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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27135430">A 7 year Reunion</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BorgQQ/pseuds/BorgQQ'>BorgQQ</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Zootopia (2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Drama &amp; Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Tragedy/Comedy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:20:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>40,092</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27135430</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BorgQQ/pseuds/BorgQQ</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"He loved me, but he didn't stay. He left me, but he didn't forget. How much I wish, that Nick had forgotten about me" 7 years have passed, for a lone Arctic fox to raise her son alone. The son she had with Nick, the son he never knew about. The young Fox kit is now curious for his father, and his mother struggles to keep his curiosity sated. Now, what happens when old lovers meet?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Judy Hopps &amp; Nick Wilde, Nick - Relationship, Nick Wilde &amp; Original Character(s), Nick Wilde/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>78</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue and Introductions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A revival of this story from FF.net, this version contains some changes which is considered final. Eventually the two versions will be up to date, but AO3 will currently feature the updated version first.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>PROLOGUE- <em>Seven Years Ago</em></strong> <strong><br/>Downtown, Zootopia</strong></p><p>I sat there waiting; streams of tears were running down my cheeks. I was hoping that he would come back, that he would hug me, that he would tell me he was sorry, and that he loved me. But instead, I was left alone.</p><p>Curling my tail around myself for comfort, I cried as I huddled into a ball. My ears laid flat against my head, unwilling to move, unable to listen for any pawsteps outside.</p><p>The room slowly grew cold as I sat there, waiting, and waiting. I began to shake, feeling a sense of unease and numbness. The bitter cold was not to blame for this; it was not the chill of winter, but rather the coldness of heartbreak.</p><p>An argument was all it took, at first we argued about Nick's con-fox ways. But that had quickly led to shouting and an abrupt end to our relationship. The moment Nick walked out that door, I felt my heart being ripped from my chest; he was a part of my life, and without him, I didn’t know what to do.</p><p>How long has it been since he left? An hour? A minute? I couldn't tell. All I knew was that I was still sitting, and waiting. The shock of him leaving brought thoughts into my mind, ugly horrible thoughts filling the emptiness he left.<em> 'He won't come back. He doesn't even care'</em></p><p>'<em>You're nothing to him, just a vixen he would play around with until you stopped being interesting'</em></p><p>
  <em>‘He ruined you for other tods, he broke his mating oath’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>'Face it, he's just going find another vixen, and leave you alone'</em>
</p><p>"No, not alone" I whispered to myself, wiping away the tears. I gazed at the little growing bump on my belly and rubbed my paw against it. It had been a week since I found out about it, and tonight was going to be the night, the night I would tell Nick the news.</p><p>'<em>I should have told him sooner, and then maybe...maybe he would have stayed. But would he? No, even if he did, it wouldn't have been for me. I would have been nothing more than a burden'</em> I shook my head, trying to clear my head from these thoughts. I gave off a whimper for no one to hear but myself.</p><p>"At least I still have you. You won't leave me, will you?" I felt a small kick as if it was agreeing with me. "We don't need him. We have each other, right?" I felt another kick in agreement.</p><p>Tears began to stream down my muzzle again. I looked out the apartment window into the dark blue night sky. "Why?" I asked the stars, hoping that someone would answer. "Why?"</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Present Day- One year after the Night Howler Case.<br/>Downtown, Zootopia</strong>
</p><p>Carefully, I walked out of the kitchen, holding a vanilla cake in both paws. Seven years had passed since Nathan entered my life, and each day with my son slowly filled that hole in my heart, the hole that selfishly Nick tore.</p><p>I hated him for what he did to me, the pain he put me through. I don’t know if I have it within my heart to ever forgive him...that is if he ever came crawling back.</p><p>Shaking myself away from my thoughts, I looked at my son and couldn’t help but smile. The cute little kit was already seven, but he would always be my precious baby. Although he took after Nick as a Red fox and a painful reminder, I still loved every bit of him. From his bright cheerful smile to his scarlet red fur, but the best part of him was his eyes; they were a deep sapphire blue, and already brimming with curiosity, love and innocence.</p><p>Although you’d commonly find blue eyes among Arctic foxes such as myself, and very young red fox kits, it was a rare thing to see on a kit who passed the age of one. And I couldn’t help but think of all the future vixens that would go crazy over his eyes.</p><p>Nathan was sitting with his group of friends by the table, who were all predators barring one prey. The sight of them all smiling and happy around my boy lightened my heart. Most mammals still looked down at foxes, but the world accepted us more than it used to. I sensed my mind drifting back on the familiar road to the memories of the harsh society my brother Paul and I had grown up in. '<em>No'</em> I thought, shaking the depressing thought aside. '<em>That's the past. Leave it.'</em></p><p>"Who wants cake?" I called out, giving off a toothy smile.</p><p>"I do! I do!" squealed Nathan and his friends, in their adorable excited little voices. With tails wagging, ears high and attentive or just wide-eyed excitement, they stared at me expectedly.</p><p>I placed the cake on the table, as I reached for a matchbox from my pocket. Striking a match, I lit the seven candles for my son's seventh birthday. "Happy Birthday Nathan! Make a wish," I said, as I blew out the match.</p><p>He took a moment to think of what he wanted. <em>‘I wonder what toys or gizmo he’ll ask this time’ </em>I thought, curious as to what he wanted. When he had made his mind, it came out in a low whisper – but I heard it, and it sent a strange sick feeling through me.</p><p>"I wish that dad was here" he whispered, he then blew out all the candles.</p><p>While Nathan and his friends were busy talking, playing and eating cake, I signalled my brother into the cramped mess of an apartment kitchen.</p><p>"I'm going to assume that you heard it too?" he asked, giving off a dejected look.</p><p>I nodded slowly, the look of panic stapled on my face. Worrying thoughts began to occupy my head. <em>'What am I going to do?'</em> I felt my body starting to curl up and tense. My tail wrapped itself around my legs, I just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry.</p><p>Suddenly, two paws grabbed my shoulders in a firm grip, snapping me out of my thoughts.</p><p>"Look Sis, take a deep breath and calm down okay?" instructed Paul.</p><p>I closed my eyes, took a breath and concentrated; I felt my chest rise and fall, with the air flowing through my lungs, my unsteady nerves came back under control.</p><p>"Better?" he asked.</p><p>I calmly nodded my head again as I felt him lift his paws from my shoulders. "Look Sis, I uh…" he mumbled, as he stared at the floor, fidgeting with his paws.</p><p>I took a serious look at him, studying his body language. His ears were lowered back, along with his tail curled around his legs; it was a clear sign of submission and fear.</p><p>He took a deep breath before continuing, looking up from the floor, staring at me with a look of uncertainty. "Look, I won't lie to you. But, I've been thinking that maybe… maybe it's for the best to tell Nathan the truth."</p><p>I looked at him, shocked at what he'd just said. I felt my blood starting to boil, my muscles tightened, and my eyes beginning to burn. "HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?!" I shrieked "YOU CAN’T TELL HIM!"</p><p>Paul seemed taken aback by my sudden change in behaviour; he glanced back to the living room with a blank look on his face. I was going to continue telling him what I thought about his idiotic suggestion when I noticed how quiet the living room was.</p><p>I was horrified when I realised what I had just done, I held my breath as I hoped that the kits would just ignore it. Silence...that was until someone started yelling, and with that, the living room returned to a mess of noise. I let out a sigh of relief, thankful that I avoided an embarrassing situation with the children.</p><p>I returned my attention to my brother, who also seemed to be relieved. “Okay, what did you mean by ‘tell him the truth’?” I asked, taking care to keep myself calm.</p><p>“Well...” he mumbled, rubbing his head sheepishly. “I think if we told him the truth...or at least let him know about Nick. That way, if something ever happened to us...he’d know that there was someone who’d take care of him” he replied.</p><p>“Besides...” he continued, not giving me a chance to voice my thoughts “Nathan’s a smart kit, tell him a bit of the truth, then in a couple of years he’ll figure out the whole thing, the excuses, the fake birthday cards... it’ll be...easier for him if he knows now” he explained.</p><p>I kept myself silent, not sure how to respond.</p><p>"Okay, I understand that it's a lot to ask, but his curiosity for Nick will only grow. I'm not asking you to instantly break the news to Nathan, just…" he paused, before removing his glasses to rub his eyes. "The choice is yours Sis" With that he walked back towards to living room.</p><p>After the party, everyone had said their goodbyes and left, leaving us three to our own devices. The day was nearing an end, with the sun fading and city life beginning to die down. Neighbouring apartments began to flick on their lights, adding to the sea of blue and yellow in the darkness of the night.</p><p>We lived in the hub of the city, Downtown. It had benefits like being closer to the shops, the park, the school, the hospital, and even the police department. Sure it was a pretty rundown flat with horrible mould here and there, and rent that was difficult for two foxes to pay off. But at least it was safe; it is where Nathan would be safe. And I was willing to do everything to keep him that way.</p><p>As I sat down in the lounge, I thought to myself '<em>What am I going to do? I can't ignore Nathan forever. What am I going to do?'</em></p><p>After some thinking, I noticed Nathan looking at me anxiously. He didn't say anything, but his big blue eyes asked, <em>'Mom?’</em></p><p>I sighed, as much as I hated my brother for even suggesting it, he was right. Nathan couldn't live his entire life without at least knowing where he came from. I got up from the couch and made my way to my room, beckoning him after me. "Nathan sweetie, come here. I have something to show you."</p><p>Guiding him through the small hallway, I noticed how excited he was. Ears flicking here and there, along with his small red tail swishing back and forth, my heart melted at the sight.</p><p>Stepping into the room, I lifted my son with both paws; he was a bit heavier than I remembered, but I could still carry him as if he was still a newborn. I placed him on the side of my bed, as I rummaged through my bedside table, shifting scraps of paper everywhere. I was trying to find my scrapbook, obviously one of the memories not so cherished as they used to be.</p><p>"Mom, what are you looking for?" he asked, tilting his head in curiosity.</p><p>"Hush dear...Now, where is it?" I muttered, returning my efforts to the search.</p><p>A small worn-out blue book caught my eye. "There," I whispered. I called it a scrapbook, though it was more of a purse-sized one, with each page just big enough for one photograph. Flipping through the familiar worn pages, I searched past the paged memories of my childhood and rather empty teenage years, I was looking for a particular picture that I had tucked away years ago. Part of me wondered if I might have thrown it away, and my stomach tightened at the idea until I had turned that crucial page. "Here it is!" I exclaimed out loud in relief.</p><p>Putting the book aside, I grabbed the picture and sat next to Nathan.</p><p>Looking at the picture of… of <em>our</em> visit to Wild Times, I recognised the neatly written words <em>'Nick and Me'</em>. It was there Nick told me he loved me more than anything in the world. For a moment I smiled as I thought back to that day, along with the <em>'magical'</em> night which followed. It was that night which caused seven weeks of doctor visits, frequent vomiting… and finally the wonderful, crazy kit next to me on the bed.</p><p>Then my stomach twisted. Nick had disappeared before I even told him, before the doctor or anything else. His promise of eternal love, and everything that came with it… it was all a lie.</p><p>I held the picture away from Nathan for a moment, despite his craning to see it. Was it the right choice? To expose him to the Tod who never knew of his existence? The fox who hustled his friends for a living? I closed my eyes and thought hard on the decision, hearing my brother's words repeat in my head. <em>'The choice is yours' </em>and he was right, the choice was mine to make...and I choose my son.</p><p>I showed Nathan the picture. "Here's a picture, of… of me and your father," I revealed, fearful at the future repercussions that my decision would cause. Nathan's eyes gleamed and his ears perked up as he scanned the picture with almost cheerful interest.</p><p>"Nick and Me," he stated, as he read the words out loud. Then he stared at me with a face filled with curiosity and awe. "Dad's name is Nick?"</p><p>I smiled at Nathan. "Well, his actual name is Nicholas, but he prefers Nick for short. Now, I know how you've always wondered what your Father looked like, and so I thought I'd show you." I handed him the picture on an impulse, suddenly afraid to hold onto it. "You...you can keep it." Nathan had the look of excitement on his face. This was the first time that he'd gotten anything relating to his father. Everything that had anything to do with Nick I kept carefully hidden; hidden and away from him until today.</p><p>Nathan was in full concentration, inspecting and analysing every detail in the photo. "He's Red, like me," he declared, stating the obvious.</p><p>I laughed at his little observation and began to pat his little head. Gently combing his fur with my claws, I noticed how unkempt it was. Letting out a sigh, I picked up my son and placed him in my lap, as I started grooming his fur with my tongue and teeth, pulling any tangles in his fur.</p><p>“Mom” he mumbled, squirming around trying to escape my grasp.</p><p>“Hold still honey” I replied, giving him a good clean behind his ear.</p><p>A moment of silent grooming passed. "Why doesn't Dad ever come home?" he looked at me with his eyes, those gleaming blue eyes full of trust and innocence. I couldn't possibly tell him the truth; it would break his little heart.</p><p>"Well, Nathan, your father…" I struggled to find the words. "Your father…" I gave myself a moment to think about what to say before continuing.</p><p>"Your father is a very busy mammal, his job keeps him very busy so he doesn't have any time off." Nathan just sat there thinking, it was as if he was contemplating whether my words held any truth.</p><p>I was a bit dumbfounded at what I just said. In my heart, I felt that I had betrayed the trust between a mother and her kit. I had <em>lied</em> to him, and now I felt uncomfortable and broken; torn apart between guilt for the lie and responsibility as a mother to protect him, to protect him from the truth.</p><p>Nathan's eyes suddenly lit up, with his ears perked upwards with eagerness and his bushy red tail wagging in excitement. I had seen that look before. It was the look of trouble.</p><p>"Where does Dad work?" he chirped.</p><p>"<em>Work?</em> <em>Where does Nick work?</em> I thought to myself, I thought back to a year prior.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>One year ago. Six Months after the Night Howler case.<br/>Savannah Central, Zootopia</strong>
</p><p>"Nathan sweetie, stay close to mommy," I told Nathan as he gripped my paw. We walked towards the station exit as crowds of various mammals made their journey to and from Zootopia. I held his paw tightly, anxious about getting separated in the mass of mammals.</p><p>We stopped and stood outside the station, basking in the warm sunlight that shined upon the city while the familiar hum of city life greeted us. Taking a deep breath I took in the suns warmth, as I gave my tail a shake, loosening any bits of dirt or white strands of fur among the sea of growing Greyish-Brown. My summer coat was growing along nicely, shedding away the white of winter; I glanced down at my son, who was also beginning to grow out of his extra winter fluff.</p><p>To mammals unfamiliar with foxes, they might think that we had mange, I remembered the times when Kit protection services knocked on my door...another memory best to be forgotten. I buried the thought away.</p><p>"It's great to be back, isn't it Paul?" I asked my brother. We had left the city earlier due to the increasing prejudice and incidents of savage mammals around. For weeks it hadn't been safe to be around both prey and predators.</p><p>"Paul?" I asked, unsure as to why he didn't answer. I turned around, only to see him dragging our luggage towards us. He stopped next to us, scratching his neck. "Remind me again, why <em>I</em> have to carry all the luggage?" he asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.</p><p>"Because I have to look after Nathan," I teased him as I lifted my baby tod, hugging him tightly.</p><p>"Mom," he protested letting off a giggle.</p><p>"Right... that," Paul mumbled, looking around Savannah Central.</p><p>I focused my attention on my son. "Alright sweetie, we're back home. Where should we go to celebrate?" I asked.</p><p>He answered without hesitation. "The ice cream shop!" he yelped in an excited tone, with his tail wagging in eagerness, and ears perked up high.</p><p>I laughed at my son's excitement. "Alright, ice cream it is," I chuckled, hugging him tighter, nuzzling his neck, and taking in his familiar scent.</p><p>"Uh, Sis..." I heard Paul beckon as he tapped me on the shoulder.</p><p>"Hmm? What?" I replied in confusion as I turned to stare at what Paul was looking at. He pointed towards a Rabbit and a Red fox of all mammals, in dark blue police uniforms.</p><p>Upon staring at the fox, my heart stopped for a second. It was Nick. After six years of separation, there he was, smiling his usual sly foxy smile.</p><p>"From hustler to a cop, what a way to go," my brother whispered into my ear.</p><p>Instead of replying, I was struggling to breathe. Each breath was heavy and difficult to draw, making it quite difficult to focus on anything. Panic began to set, as I remembered that Nathan was with me. <em>'Nathan...my sweet precious baby, I can’t let Nick see him, I won’t let him take my boy away, I won’t be alone again’</em></p><p>"Mom?" asked Nathan in a concerned tone, his ears laid flat in a cautious state.</p><p>Instead of answering, I held him tightly in my arms, moving quickly away from Nick. <em>'He can't find out, he can't know'</em></p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Present Day</strong>
</p><p>I was a bit hesitant to answer. From what Paul told me, Nick had become the first fox cop in Zootopia. Still, the guilt of one lie was so fresh that I couldn't do it again, this small truth wouldn’t cause too much trouble, would it?<br/>"Well, Nick's a Police officer, so I guess he works at the Zootopia Police Department." I answered, giving off a smile.</p><p>I turn my head, looking over at my bedside alarm clock. With a start, I realised it was already past his bedtime. '<em>Perfect.'</em></p><p>"Oh, it's getting late, time for bed now!"</p><p>"But Mom!" he pleaded, giving off a tiny whimper.</p><p>"No buts," I insisted, hoping to fend off any more questions. "Bed, now."</p><p>
  <strong>  </strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Memories and unexpected events</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>The Following Day</strong>
</p><p>In the City of Zootopia; the day started like any other. The streets filled with bustling movement, taxi cabs drove around looking for that extra fare, stockbrokers and office workers rushed to meet their deadlines. Yes, the day was just like any other in this <em>‘Utopian’</em> city. Yet, something different would happen today, something unexpected.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Nicole’s Point of View</strong>
</p><p>I stumbled out of my room, balancing myself on the walls. Even though I had gotten changed for work, I was still drowsy from being forced to wake up so early; After all, it’s no secret that Foxes are children of the night.</p><p>My entire body was heavy and unresponsive, and even when I did manage to move, it took me a couple of seconds to even realise it. <em>‘Even Mom didn’t have it this rough; then again, she didn’t have to do honest work. Lucky vixen’</em> I grumbled to myself.</p><p>Although I wanted to crawl back into the soft covers of my bed, fluff out my fur and sleep the day away. I knew with my life, I couldn’t afford to be lazy<em>. 'One of the many 'perks' of being a single mother'</em> I thought to myself.</p><p>I stopped outside Nathan’s room, taking a deep breath, feeling the cold air enter my lungs. I let off a loud yawn in an attempt to shake myself out of the drowsiness.</p><p>Giving the door a gentle push, I poked my head into his room, spying the blurred mound of blankets on the bed.</p><p>"Nathan sweetie, get up, it's time for school" I mumbled. Nothing, not even a groan. “Nathan” I repeated louder, the mound of blankets began to move slightly. I sighed as I realised, he must be still asleep.</p><p>I tried to open the door further, only to hear it collide with a <em>'thud'</em>. Confused, I tried pushing again, no luck. I poked my head back into his room, peering around the side, only to find one of the living room chairs propped up against it <em>‘Ohhh, that little…’</em></p><p>I stretched my paw around the side, trying to dislodge the chair from the doorknob, only to discover that it was firmly wedged. No matter how hard I tried, the chair remained where it was, stuck.</p><p> </p><p>I pulled my paw back, pushing the door one last time, hoping to dislodge it with sheer force, before finally, abandoning my hopeless attempts. I poked my head back into his room.</p><p>“Nathan, open this door right now” I demanded, annoyed at his little trick.</p><p>“No, I don’t want to, it’s cold outside” he replied, from his bed.</p><p>“Nathan” I pleaded, feeling my frustration grow.</p><p>“No!” he repeated, underneath his small mound of blankets.</p><p> </p><p>“NATHAN WHITE! YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!” I screamed, feeling the pent-up frustration exploding out of my mouth. Mouth left open, I was panting for breath afterwards. For a moment, there was silence, a brief silence until it was broken by a certain troublemaker.</p><p>“NO! COME MAKE ME!” he shouted.</p><p>Slamming myself against the door, I pushed with all my might, feeling every muscle in my body tighten, as I tried to force the door open. It was like pushing against a particularly lazy elephant: tiring, slow, and pointless. My arms started to ache; my body quickly grew exhausted.</p><p>After another series of pushes, with little success, I gave up and slumped down on the floor. I curled my fluffy white tail around myself, trying to find a bit of comfort to calm down.</p><p>Leaning against the wall, I took a deep breath<em> 'why, oh why is he doing this again?' </em>I whined to myself.</p><p>The last time Nathan wasn’t behaving himself. He was only five back then, but he was already a troublesome little kit, maybe if he had gotten a sibling or two he would've behaved more like a big brother, but the thought of raising two kits by myself was frightening. <em>‘I've had enough of one Wilde in my life, let alone two more, uuuuuuurgh’ </em>I muttered to myself. As I sat there with nothing do to, I thought back to the last time Nathan was misbehaving...</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Two years ago.</strong>
</p><p><em>'Where on earth is that damn key'</em> I mumbled to myself, as I searched through drawers after drawers,<em> 'at this rate, I'm going to be super late, WHERE IS IT!?'</em></p><p>I've searched everywhere, and I still couldn't find it, some idiot deadlocked the front door, and now I can't leave for work, which I was already late for. I turned to Nathan, who was sitting on the couch.</p><p> </p><p>"Nathan honey, have you seen the key?" I asked politely. He didn't reply, he just sat there <em>'that’s strange...it looks like something's bothering him...I wonder if...</em>' I then realised what had happened, or what I thought had happened. I walked towards him.</p><p>"Nathan, give me the key sweetie" I ordered, holding my paw out, with my muzzle scrunched up in a scowl.</p><p>"No" he replied, in a whisper like tone.</p><p>"Nathan, you have ten seconds, to gi-"</p><p>"At night, when you come home, I hear you crying, and I hate it" he muttered.</p><p>I was taken aback by his behaviour, I didn't expect him to know, or to care so much about it... I knelt down "Nathan, you have to...understand...you see"</p><p>"NO! NO NO NO!!" he yelled, as he ran off to his room.</p><p>I let out a sigh, I had no idea where he had hidden the key, and I couldn't force him to tell me either. The only thing left to do was to call my brother for his spare, and so...I did.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Present Day</strong>
</p><p>I felt my ears droop, as I slowly remembered what had...or almost had happened afterwards. Back then, I was working in a less respectable part of the city as a waitress. The patrons there were touchier than anywhere else I had worked, but that wasn't even the worst part of it.</p><p>I was filled with a sickening feeling in my gut, as I remembered the Coyote that I had worked for, and what he… he almost did to me. The teardrops started forming, as I tried to calm down, but that didn't help at all.</p><p>I could still feel his damn paws creeping around my hips, his claws digging into my pelt, I could still smell his disgusting stench of cigarettes and alcohol, and I could feel it choking me.</p><p><em>‘Nothing happened, nothing happened, I got lucky, nothing happened’</em> I repeated to myself, only to have a stream of tears flow down my cheeks. My body shook with fear, trembling at the horrible memories, the sickening memories.</p><p>I huddled up against the wall, burying my face in my paws, my eyes burning from the tears. I curled up even tighter, wrapping my tail tightly around myself, trying to find comfort or shelter from the memories.</p><p>As I sat on the floor trying to stop the tears, I heard something move; I looked up and saw him standing there, a shocked look on his face. He must have heard me crying.</p><p>"Mom!" he yelled, as he quickly rushed towards me, hugging me "Please don't cry, I’m sorry"</p><p>I hugged him tightly "Nathan, promise me, promise me to never do that again" I begged.</p><p>“I promise Mom, I’m sorry, I'm sorry...” he whispered.</p><p>As I hugged my son, I felt his heartbeat next to mine, his familiar scent giving me comfort. This is all that I need, the feeling of home, this was all I needed.</p><p>A few moments passed before I could muster up the strength to stand up, as I wiped my face dry, I realised Nathan was still hugging me."Nathan honey, please let go of my leg" I asked, managing to muster a smile at him.</p><p>He looked up, staring at me with those blue orbs of his "Are you sure you're okay mom?" he asked.</p><p>"Yes, I'm fine my little pumpkin " I smiled at his contagious sweetness "Come on, let’s get you ready for school hmmm?" I replied, wiping my muzzle dry with my paw.</p><p>
  <strong>LATER</strong>
</p><p>Every day to get somewhere, we had to walk. A daily reminder that we couldn't, and probably never could afford a car. We could take the bus, but having a herd of Rhinos and Elephants stampeding on and off wasn't exactly a pleasant experience, not to mention it would be so cramped that it'd be impossible to even leave.</p><p>After a quick and tiring walk, we arrived at the school entrance. There I saw parents waving goodbyes to their children as they sent them off to school, with their carefree and happy looks they bore on their muzzles. I was a bit jealous of how easy their lives were...well, easy compared to mine anyways.</p><p>Being a single mother was hard enough as it is, but being a fox as well, that was an extra burden. I would never forget the day Nathan came home with bruises, those pieces of prey filth that called themselves teachers, blamed him for everything that happened. Oh how they hurt my precious baby, even though I had no real way to fight back, I sure gave them a piece of my mind. They wouldn't forget me soon...of course; I am now banned from going near their school.</p><p>Now though, he attends a more fox friendly school, one that didn't discriminate as much. I hugged Nathan once more, I was going to need it for the berating I was going to receive from my boss for being so late "Alright sweetie, take care now" I whispered.</p><p>"I will mom" he whispered.</p><p>I let him go, and off he went, disappearing into the crowd of various kits and cubs. After saying my goodbye to him, I ran, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Hopefully, the whole day goes without a hitch because I needed this job.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>The Red Velvet Bar</strong>
</p><p>I arrived at the bar's doorstep, panting and gasping for air; my lungs were burning with pain as I rested myself against the wall. <em>‘I need to start working out, cut down on the eggs and eat more berries’ </em>I mumbled to myself.</p><p>As soon as I got my breath back, I peered into the bar through the black tinted windows. Straining my eyes, I tried to catch a glimpse inside, wondering if my boss was in. But it was difficult to see anything when the insides were dark and I was standing in a practically sunny day. Instead, I focused my attention to my ears, trying to listen carefully if I could hear a voice, a sound, anything at all. But I couldn't hear anything as well <em>'old carcass breath doesn't seem to be around'</em> I thought to myself.</p><p>Feeling confident, I opened the door and stepped inside, scanning the room, my heart stopped for a second, as I saw an elderly lion asleep on the barstool, it was my boss.</p><p>I froze on the spot, expecting him to turn around, but he didn't "H-hello?" I asked quietly, waiting for a reply...nothing, I let out a sigh of relief.</p><p>As I crept forward, towards the back room, I took a final glance at my boss <em>'Huh, I didn't know Lions slept with their eyes open'</em> I thought to myself.</p><p>"So, you finally came?" he spoke. I stumbled back in surprise, tripping on my tail as I bumped into a nearby table, falling to the dirty bar ground.</p><p>I heard him sigh, as he began to sit up. "You were supposed to be here 30 minutes ago” he growled.</p><p>In a panic, I quickly got up, accidentally knocking over another chair "Eeep...uhhh sorry Sir, I was caught up in.."</p><p>"No, I'll have none of that lip, when you work for me I expect you to be here on time" he interrupted, "Must I repeat myself again?" he continued.</p><p>"No sir" I replied, as my shoulders and ears sagged in defeat.</p><p>"Good, and to make sure this doesn't occur again..." he paused, with a paw on his chin, as if in thought.” I think it's quite fair to dock your pay, for today's slip up, how's that?" he continued.</p><p>My jaw dropped, as I heard him say those words "Y-y-you can't do that!" I replied, shocked at his response.</p><p>"Oh? Can't I? let me remind you, that you begged me to take you in" he reminded.</p><p>Silence overcame me; I remembered how I got the job. He was right, I did beg him for it, I had no right to complain...</p><p>"Now, I was thinking of taking half of what you earn till the next week, any objections?" he asked, a smirk on his face.</p><p><em>‘Yeah, how about you half the workload too. Useless den-warmer’ </em>I thought to myself. Letting out a sigh in defeat, I shook my head slowly in reply; my ears still drooped behind my head.</p><p>"Good, get back to work" he ordered. As he got up and walked towards the back, I heard him mutter under his breath <em>'Bad enough that I had to hire a vixen as the Bartender, that’s some trouble just waiting to happen'.</em></p><p>I was stunned, working at this dump he barely pays me enough to cover Nathan's school fees, if it hadn't been for Paul who chipped in, we would've been evicted from our apartment long ago. But I couldn't complain, this was the only job within Downtown that'll accept me, and my lack of qualifications, no matter how horrible conditions were, I just had to grin and bear it.</p><p>I changed into my Bartending uniform and got to work, I wasn't really qualified to run a bar, but there are barely any patrons during the day shift in this lousy place.</p><p><em>‘Bartending, more like bar-watching’ </em>I mumbled under my breath, as I spent the majority of my shift wiping the counter, the glasses, and generally just staring outside.</p><p>Time passes and it's now noon, still no patrons, nothing. I was getting ready to call it in for the day and go clean the restroom, which was until I received a phone call, "Hello?" I asked, wondering who would be calling.</p><p>"Hi, I'm Carly from Zootopia Elementary. Is this Nicole White, Nathan's mother?"</p><p>Why would the school be calling, my heart froze, the school would only call if Nathan was in trouble or something serious had happened, "It's Nathan isn't it? What happened? Did he get in trouble? Is he alright?" I blathered.</p><p>The whole world seemed to slow down; I was waiting, waiting for an answer. Instead of an answer, I was met with a question.</p><p>"I'm going to presume he's not with you?" questioned Carly.</p><p>At this point I was confused; why would Nathan be here? shouldn't he be at school? I decided not to dwell on it any longer, I needed answers "What happened?" I spoke slowly to hide the panic in my voice. The voice on the phone was reluctant to answer.</p><p>"Well... Miss White, I'm afraid your son Nathan....is missing"</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A short search</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>The Red Velvet Bar</strong>
</p><p>The phone fell from my grasp, dropping onto the wooden floor below with a loud thud. Missing, the word repeated itself in my mind, over and over again. I stood there shocked and afraid, ‘<em>how could this happen? How could he go missing?’</em></p><p>I realised that couldn’t stay here any longer; I knew I had to go... I had to find my son. I quickly picked up my phone, and stuffed it into my purse; my mind was racing with a cloud of thoughts.</p><p>
  <em>‘Where is my son? Where is Nathan?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘Did someone take him? Is he okay?’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>‘WHERE IS MY BABY!?’</em>
</p><p>I made a quick dash to the door, still in my work uniform; I didn’t have time to change. With my paw on the metal door handle, I threw it open, hearing a loud banging noise at it smacked against the wall. I was about to leave until I heard a sudden cry.</p><p>“MY DOOR! What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” shouted my boss.</p><p>I stared at him, seething with anger at the sight of the elderly lion. Without further thought, I grabbed the name tag from my chest, tearing it off and making a small hole in my shirt. I threw the tag onto the floor, watching it bounce away into some dark corner.</p><p>“SCREW YOUR DOOR AND SCREW YOU! I QUIT!” I screamed, yelling as loud as a vixen could. With the door wide open, and my ex-boss presumably with a shocked look on his muzzle, I stepped out.</p><p>Any previous worries or thought about the importance of the job was washed away, as I felt a gust of fresh air, liberating me from the stench of alcohol.</p><p>Once I was outside, however, I realized that I had no clue as to where my little kit was.<em> ‘Where could he be?’</em> I started thinking of all the places Nathan would go ‘<em>he wouldn’t have gone home nor to the park...So where is he?’</em> At this point, I was quite irritated, irritated that I couldn’t think of any possible location where my sweet son could be. All this useless thinking wasn’t getting me any closer to finding him.</p><p><em>‘Maybe...maybe someone saw where he went!’</em> I was placing my hope on this gamble, but I didn’t have any other alternatives. So again I ran to the last known location of my son, the school.</p><p>
  <em>‘Hold on Nathan...mommy’s coming’</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Downtown, Surrounding Area of Zootopia Elementary School</strong>
</p><p>When you’re amidst the city hustle and bustle, stopping in the middle of said bustle, is a bad idea. You’re most likely to get your tail trampled on, or worse, get trampled on yourself. Yet that was what I was exactly doing, I was risking my safety, trying to find any information on my son’s whereabouts.</p><p>I tried asking around the various preys and predators “Excuse me, have you seen a little Fox kit around here, about an hour ago?” but I was met with negative responses.</p><p>Endless replies of <em>’Buzz off Fox’</em> and <em>‘go cheat someone else’ </em>started to get on my nerves, asking around for information was no longer an option.</p><p>Frustrated, I took a seat by a Wolf sized Bus stop, it was there where I started to get afraid. I realized that I may never find Nathan, losing a kit is a worse fear for a mother. Some mammals can be so heartbroken that they starve themselves so that they could join their stillborn wherever they went.</p><p> I sat there in thought, as I slowly realised that I might never hear his laugh or voice again, or hear him complain about his homework, or even wake up to see him in his cute pyjamas. My ears laid flat against my head as I gave off a whimper.</p><p>I might never see my son again, ‘<em>I’m the worst mother ever, I’ve lost him…I lost my kit’. </em>My vision started to blur, as tears formed in my eyes. Suddenly, my ears perked upwards in alertness, as I heard something approach. I glanced upwards, only to see a blurred figure of a Tigress and a Wolf in police uniforms.</p><p>“Ma’am, are you alright?” she asked.</p><p>I shook my head, tears dripping down my white cheeks “No, no I’m not alright, my son’s missing,” at this point I was desperate, I needed any help I could get, I couldn’t lose him “Please help me, he’s a Red fox kit, he’s only seven years old!” I begged.</p><p>The Tigress seemed surprised at my desperation, maybe she never encountered a desperate mother before? She looked back at her partner, who only nodded; she grabbed her radio and started speaking.</p><p>“Clawhauser, this is Officer Fangmeyer, do you copy?”</p><p>I heard an answer coming from her radio set, although my Arctic fox ears could locate a lemming burrowing through snow, listening to a tiny voice in a large busy city proved to be difficult.</p><p>“Have there been any reports on a Red fox kit being found?” she waited a while before another answer was heard; she then showed a look of relief on her face, “Thanks Ben”</p><p>She turned to face me, “My friend Clawhauser, says that a little Red Fox Kit just arrived at ZPD reception” she smiled.</p><p><em>‘A Red fox kit, that fitted Nathan’s description, but it could be any other random Fox Kit”,</em> I thought to myself</p><p>
  <em>‘No, I have to stay positive, it probably is Nathan, no, it is Nathan. I have to get to him now”</em>
</p><p>“Uh...Ma’am?” queried the Tigress</p><p>I looked at her; she bore a confused look upon her face. I realized I must have been caught up in my thoughts again, “I need to get to the Police Department, can you help me?” I asked.</p><p>Again she looked over to her partner; as if for approval, the Wolf gave her thumbs up. “We can take the squad car, I’m sure the Chief won’t mind us ending our patrol early” she offered.</p><p>“Thank You! Thank you so much” I replied, I was glad that someone was willing to help me even further.</p><p>“It’s nothing Ma’am, just doing my job” she confessed. As I walked alongside her and her partner, they began making small talk to me, asking me various questions like who I was, what I did, and what my son’s name was. I answered them as simply and politely as I could, I wasn’t in a mood for chitchat, as my mind was on my son.</p><p>Taking a glance at the two officers alongside me, I noticed the Wolf sneaking a glance at me, his brow furrowed as he sniffed the air in my direction, as he turned away in embarrassment. I wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, but I had my suspicion. Zootopia was in the early stages of winter, which could only mean one thing for foxes, and specifically Vixens.</p><p> <em>‘Please stop sniffing me, I know it’s the season, please don’t make me growl’</em> I thought to myself, hoping that he would just stop.</p><p>Finally, we reached the police Cruiser, but the Wolf was still determined with the sniffing business when his partner wasn’t looking. Finally, I decided I had enough of his rude behaviour; I gave off a small growl from the back of my throat, with my ears laid back but stiff, and my tail wrapped around my private areas.</p><p>It was a clear and obvious signal to the curious dumb male wolf that I wasn’t in the slightest bit interested. The Wolf taking my message just looked down in embarrassment, as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “I’m sorry, that was...very rude of me” he confessed.</p><p>I let out a sigh, he seemed like a nice Wolf, but I knew that the smell could drive any respectable canid into a rutting stupor. “That’s okay, it’s the season, I can understand” I replied, recalling all the various tods, wolves and others eyeing me up in the past winters.</p><p>The tigress just looked at me in surprise, as she stared back at her partner “James! Did you do what I think you did?”</p><p>“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it” the Wolf blurted out in defence.</p><p>“You better hope the Chief doesn’t hear about this” she warned</p><p>The Wolf suddenly fell into a submissive state, droopy ears, head hanging low, tail limp, as he let off a whimper “No please, I’ll do anything, I’m sorry”</p><p>The Tigress put a paw to her chin in thought, before a grin appeared on her face. “I won’t tell the Chief...If you let this Vixen sit in the front, while you get in the back” she spoke, with a smirk on her muzzle.</p><p>“B-but it’s so uncomfortable back there, that’s where all the crooks go” he replied.</p><p>“You’d rather walk?” she quipped.</p><p>The Wolf let out a sigh “Fine, you win Fang” he muttered, with his head hung low in defeat, he walked towards the rear doors of the Police Cruiser.</p><p>I gave the Tigress an appreciative smile “Thanks” I said.</p><p>“Don’t mention it, us girls gotta stick together” she replied.</p><p>We entered the vehicle, and prepared to set off, as I sat there, millions of thoughts flooded into my head, ‘<em>If that is Nathan at the Station, why did he run away from school? Why was he there?’</em></p><p>It then struck me, ‘<em>Nick, he went to find Nick, seven years without a father, of course, Nathan went to find him, that’s why he was asking about where Nick worked, why did I tell him? I’m such an Idiot!’ </em>As I was busy in my thought, the police Cruiser started to move.</p><p>My thoughts also started to drift, but they were drifting towards Nick<em> ‘If he has done anything to my son, if he hurt him in some way, I would never forgive him! I have never forgiven him then, and I’m certainly not going to forgive him now, not ever.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and Kudos are greatly appreciated.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A painful reunion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Zootopia Police Department: Narration</strong>
</p><p>Unlike a deserted Cemetery, Precinct One is anything but a quiet place. There’s always something happening, whether it’s an arrest, a report or even a complaint, you can guarantee that something interesting would always occur within the Precinct doors.</p><p>Benjamin Clawhauser was doing his usual job, sitting at reception to greet any visitors, file a complaint, process an arrest or just having lunch; in this case, it was the latter in the form of doughnuts. Clawhauser was busy trying to break his record of most doughnuts he could eat within the lunch period until he was interrupted by a small voice.</p><p>“Excuse me” squeaked the anonymous voice.</p><p>Clawhauser leaned over his desk, being careful as to not drop his box of creamy, sprinkle covered, mouth-watering doughnuts. Leaning over his desk, Clawhauser saw a tiny Red Fox Kit “O…M… Goodness, well aren’t you the most adorable little thing”</p><p>The cheerful little Fox seemed to squirm in embarrassment, the little Fox started to speak “I was hoping that you could help me?”</p><p>“Well if it’s simple enough, I’m sure I can help you with whatever you need” Clawhauser then proceeded to reach over his desk with his box of doughnuts in paw, offering the small Fox the contents of the doughnut box. The Fox was hesitant at first but ultimately gave in to the creamy treat.</p><p>The little Fox took a bite out of the strawberry glazed doughnut, instantly, his eyes opened wide with surprise, as his bushy red tail swayed in excitement. He had a look of bliss and was completely captivated, as he flavoured the sugary delight.</p><p>“Good, isn’t it?” asked Clawhauser, smiling as he saw someone else, sharing his enjoyment and love of doughnuts.</p><p>The little Fox nodded his head, still munching on the sugary treat.</p><p>“I know right?! They’ve got to be the best doughnuts, I’ve ever had! Much better than that stuff they serve down at Sahara Square, anyway, this one time…” Clawhauser started to ramble on about doughnuts, completely unaware as to if the little Fox was even listening.</p><p>The little Fox suddenly remembered the reason why he came here, he wanted to find his Father “Excuse me” the Fox repeated.</p><p>Clawhauser gasped, realizing that he’d completely ignored the little Fox “I’m so sorry! It’s just that sometimes I get lost in my own gossips“ the Dispatch microphone started flashing red “hold on a sec” stated Clawhauser.</p><p>“Clawhauser, this is Officer Fangmeyer, do you copy?”</p><p>“Oh hey! Fangmeyer, what do you need?”</p><p>“Have there been any reports on a Red Fox Kit being found?”</p><p>“Well there’s none on record, I do however have an adorable little Red Fox in the Station, you should come see him, he looks just like a tiny version of Nick, well minus the blue eyes”</p><p>“Thanks, Ben”</p><p>With that the radio conversation ended, Clawhauser turned to face the small Fox “Anyway what was it that you needed help with?” he asked.</p><p>“Well, I’m looking for my Dad, he’s a Red Fox like me and he works here as a Police Officer!” declared the little Fox.</p><p>Clawhauser replied with a confused tone “Well there’s only one Fox that works here, and that’s Nick, and from what I know, he doesn’t have a Kid, heck he hasn’t even gotten hitched yet!”</p><p>At this point, both Clawhauser and the Fox were confused “Are you sure? Mom says that Dad’s name is also Nick”</p><p>Now, this was where things really started getting confusing, a Fox kit arrives at the ZPD claiming parentage of one of Zootopia’s finest.</p><p>The little Fox decided to try one last time, he reached into his pockets and pulled out a familiar-looking picture “Look I have a picture of my Dad, he’s the one on the left, and the one on the right is my mom” the little Fox handed Clawhauser the picture.</p><p>Clawhauser couldn’t believe his eyes, here he was; holding a picture of Nick and another Fox, on closer inspection, it appears to be an Arctic Fox, one with blue eyes. Clawhauser looked back at the Fox Kit, his eyes matched the Arctic Fox’s, and yet he resembled Nick himself. Clawhauser had a sudden realization, this could be Nick’s son “O….M…”</p><p>“Hey, Spots! You still spoiling yourself with sweets?” interrupted an all too familiar voice; Clawhauser was still in shock from his discovery to notice the voice, the Fox Kit, however, peered around the desk to view the source of the new voice. There stood a Red Fox accompanied by a grey Bunny; both of the pair in Police Uniforms. The Little Fox Kit couldn’t believe it, after seven years he would finally meet his Father.</p><p>“Dad!” yelled the Fox Kit, who instantly ran towards Nick, hugging Nick’s legs burying his muzzle into the Navy blue uniform.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Nick’s Point Of View</strong>
</p><p>I looked at Judy who was just as surprised as I was. Mouth agape, I peered down to see the ball of Red fluff snuggling himself into my hips “Uh, listen, Kiddo I think there’s been a mistake”, the little Fox stared at me, his Sapphire blue eyes gazing into mine, those eyes looked familiar. I’ve seen them before, long ago. “Listen bud, I’m not your...”</p><p>“Nathan!” my words were interrupted by a short yell from the Precinct entrance, I glanced up towards the distant yet strangely familiar voice, an Arctic Vixen stood by the Precinct doors, followed by Officer Fangmeyer and Wolfard. The white Vixen raced towards me, or specifically towards the Kit that hugged my legs. She didn’t even notice me, only if she did she showed no sign of it.</p><p>“Mom!” yelled the Kit as he detached himself from my legs, the two ran into each other’s embrace, in what could be described as a tender moment.</p><p>The white Vixen and her kit in each other’s embrace would start, and continue to nuzzle each other. With muzzles seemingly buried into each other’s napes, and tails wagging like crazy, they continued for quite some time.</p><p>After the brief session of hugging and tail wagging, the Vixen finally spoke “I’m so glad you’re alright! You had me worried sick!” again there it was, the all too familiar voice, I’ve heard it before but I just couldn’t place my paw on it.</p><p>The Vixen gazed upwards, our eyes met, her Deep Sapphire blues were the same as the Kit’s, but more alluring and beautiful, my heart started beating rapidly. Just who was this mysterious Vixen?<em>’Wait...the White fur, the voice, the enchanting blue eyes, it couldn’t be!’</em></p><p>“Nicole?” I asked.</p><p>The white vixen seemed afraid that I called her name. She quickly stood up, and turned around ushering to her son “Come on Nathan it’s time to go”</p><p>“But mom!” argued the little Fox.</p><p>“Now!” she ordered, as she swiftly walked towards the exit with her son in tow, it was as if she was purposely trying to avoid me. Seven years, I haven’t seen her for seven years, I wanted to catch up, get to know her again, and more importantly, to know who the Kit was.</p><p>The kit gave me a sad glance as he was dragged away by his mother, tail limp, head hanging low and ears folded back. It pained me to see him like that.</p><p>“Wait” I shouted, I grabbed her paw hoping to get her to stop. Instead, I was met with a scratch on my muzzle, I instantly let go screaming and writhing in pain, both paws clutching my left cheek. Blood was oozing from the wound, the entire Precinct fell quiet, mammals stared at our direction, and even Clawhauser broke from his trance to view to the commotion.</p><p>“Nick!” Judy rushed towards my side. “Are you okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine” I replied, I glanced at Nicole; her fury quickly turned to shock, as she stared at her bloodied left paw.</p><p>Judy then began to speak “Ma’am, I have no idea what relation you have with my partner, but I’m placing you under arrest for assaulting an officer”</p><p>I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Sure she scratched me, sure it hurts, but she didn’t deserve to be arrested for it.</p><p>“Th-this doesn’t involve you R-rabbit” she stuttered, her loss of confidence and anger was clear.</p><p>The Kit began to cower behind her “Mom?” he started whimpering, tucking his tail and folding his ears into a fearful posture, his voice full of concern and fear.</p><p>“Shhhh, it’s alright sweetie. Everything will be fine” Nicole assured the kit, petting his head in an act of comfort.</p><p>Nicole looked at me, her blue eyes full of fear; she slowly continued walking with the little kit towards the exit. Both Fangmeyer and Wolfard stood there, shocked like everyone else. Judy however, had that look about her, seemingly ready to give chase.</p><p>“Judy!” I cried “let her go” she stared back confused, reluctant to let the Vixen who scratched her partner walk free.</p><p>“But!” she interjected “she...”</p><p>“Let it go Judy” I sighed, slowly, I removed my paw from my face, the bleeding had stopped. I looked around, Nicole and the Kit had already left, and the Precinct slowly returned to its busy form.</p><p>While the Precinct returned to usual, a rather agitated grey bunny stomped her way towards me “Alright Nick, who was she?”</p><p>Did I really want to answer her question? No, I did not. “Um well, Judy… she uh…”</p><p>“Hey, Nick! Judy!” yelled Clawhauser.</p><p>Oh thank the Fox goddess, I thought to myself, saved by the bell, or in this case, the Cheetah. I looked over to Clawhauser.</p><p>“Chief wants to see you two in his Office...now”</p><p><em>‘Crap’</em> I thought to myself. I stared at Judy as she stared right back, both with the knowing look in our eyes that screamed. <em>‘Don’t keep the Chief waiting’</em></p><p>Without another word, we dashed off towards the Chief’s office, all the while during our journey up the stairs to the Precinct’s second floor, my thoughts began anew. As I thought about what Chief Buffalo Butt could have wanted us for; I tried thinking of the reasons for this rather impromptu meeting. <em>‘I hope it’s not for what happened out in the lobby’</em> I gulped, afraid of the possibility of interrogation from my superior.</p><p>And as my thoughts lingered around the events in the lobby, what came to mind, quite vividly was the image of an Arctic Vixen, a Vixen with soft white fur, and gleaming blue eyes. Nicole White, <em>‘the one who stole my heart, the one who I made my eternal mating vows to, the one who I betrayed, the one who I lost...the one that I regret’</em>.</p><p>“Nick, we’re here” declared Judy, tugging at my sleeves.</p><p>I quickly snapped out of my thoughts, shaking off the prior emotions I held, as I shifted back into my usual sly demeanour “Well Carrots, here goes nothing”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Remember, a Kudos and a Comment are always appreciated. Reviews on each chapter are also of great help.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Cadmean and the Reynard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Zootopia Police Department, Bogo’s Office: Nick’s Point of View</strong>
</p>
<p>“Well Carrots, here goes nothing,” I muttered to Judy.</p>
<p>Before making a move to confront the Buffalo in his lair, I made sure to fix up my tie; tightening it up to its fullest <em>‘straight and proper as a respectable fox should be’</em> my mother would say. Making a final check on my uniform, I let out a breath in anticipation.</p>
<p>I gave Judy a smirk and a look which asked <em>‘ready fluff?’</em> as she finished up her own uniform inspection.</p>
<p>Returning the gesture, she replied a silent <em>‘ready’</em>. Lifting my paw, I gave a series of knocks on the Chief’s door, three knocks for the busy buffalo as I waited for an answer.</p>
<p>“Come in” came a reply.</p>
<p>Reaching forth, I grasped the door’s handle and pushed it open. As the door slowly swung open, Judy was the first to step into the room; I followed behind her taking in the Chief’s office. Although I’ve seen it countless times, on the account of receiving a heavy berating by the Chief for various <em>‘unimportant’</em> reasons. It was still a room which filled any mammal with dread, no matter how familiar they seemed to be with it.</p>
<p>Closing the office door as quietly as I could, I stepped over to Judy, standing next to her in what quietness the Bogo’s office could offer. The Chief was still hunched over, absorbed in whatever paperwork on his desk, barely taking any notice of us until Judy broke the silence.</p>
<p>“You wanted to see us Chief?” she asked carefully, uncertain to the nature of this meeting.</p>
<p>Taking his attention from his work, Bogo took off his reading specs and assumed a more receiving posture.</p>
<p>“Yes, Wilde, Hopps, take a seat” he gestured towards the chair opposite to him. I clambered up onto the seat designed for larger mammals. Judy however, just leapt into it <em>‘perks of being a Bunny’ </em>I thought to myself.</p>
<p>“Now then, Wilde, Hopps, I would like to congratulate you two on last week’s Night Howler bust”</p>
<p><em>‘Thank goodness’ </em>I thought to myself, so it’s nothing too serious.</p>
<p>“Now, you know as well as I, that since Bellwether, Night Howlers have started becoming more of a problem, now it’s our job to…”</p>
<p>The Chief’s voice started to fade away as I quickly lost interest, my thoughts started to shift towards Nicole again. I thought about what could have happened to her in the seven years after our breakup ‘<em>I wonder if she moved on’</em> the thought of her with some other Tod else was heart retching. <em>‘Why? Why can’t I let her go? Why does it hurt so much?’ </em>And then it struck me, a memory long ago that now makes sense.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <strong>25 years ago. 1992.</strong>
</p>
<p>“Dad, I don’t understand why foxes have to mate for life, what if I change my mind?” I asked, unsure why we foxes held this rule.</p>
<p>“Well son, that’s why you need to choose carefully when you find a nice vixen of your own, you’ll understand why you would never feel for another” dad explained, as he busied himself with fitting a dress on mom.</p>
<p>“Vixens are icky, I’m not going to go near one ever” I revealed, only to have both mom and dad laughing.</p>
<p>“Nicky hon, I’m a vixen, does that mean I’m icky too? Oh, woe is me, my son finds me a disgust” she declared, a paw on her chest and head, pretending to be hurt.</p>
<p>“Moooom, you’re not icky, you’re my mom,” I remarked, giving her a roll of my eyes.</p>
<p>“Oh dear Marian, is our son fated to be a bachelor? Are we never getting grandkits?” said dad, trying his best to put on a dramatic act.</p>
<p>“I just want to know why we have this stupid tradition” I mumbled, ignoring the antics by both my parents.</p>
<p>Mom let out a sigh before continuing “It’s not only tradition Nicky, but also a part of our belief” she revealed. “John, let’s take a break, I’m tired of standing” she continued, as she stepped off a stool.</p>
<p>“Alright dear, though I have to say, you’re simply stunning in that dress”</p>
<p>“Oh hush you rogue” she replied, batting her paw against him in a playful manner.</p>
<p>“Come here you” returned dad, paw around mom’s waist as he pulled her in. She let out a little yip before giggling in his paws, tail wagging in excitement.</p>
<p>“Yuck,” I muttered, showing off my tongue in disgust.</p>
<p>Both mom and dad turned their attention to me, a smile on both their faces. Mom whispered something in dad’s ear, as a sly smile began to grow on his muzzle. “Still want to know about fox tradition?” asked dad.</p>
<p>“Yes...unless there’s icky stuff in it” I answered.</p>
<p>“Well, It isn’t too icky...I think. Anyways come here son, and I’ll tell you a story that my grandfather told me” as he sat down in a chair with mom, waiting for me to climb into his lap “ready?” he asked. I simply nodded my head.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Long ago, in the skies above, the vulpine goddess Cadmean was said to have grown a yearning desire in the sky. A desire that was so great, it could not be sated by anything offered by the heavenly paradise. Filled with such need, she took to the night sky, travelling under the guise of a shooting star. Hoping to find an answer to her needs, but in her haste, she tripped and fell unto the mortal realm below.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So great was her fall, that she became injured and lost from the sight of the gods above. It was greatly feared that she would soon perish when the sun rose, for being a child of the stars, the sun would end any who thrived under the cover of the night.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But her fears were soon brandished aside when she met a Reynard of unknown name and colour. Sensing her fears, the Reynard whisked her away to his den, protecting her from the rays of the sun as it rose.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>With naught a word, the Reynard nursed her back to health with the prizes of his diligent hunts. And all the while, Cadmean felt indebted to her saviour as well as feeling sated in her desires.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Many seasons passed, and love began to bloom and blossom between Cadmean and the mortal fox. The love was so great that Cadmean soon gave birth to a litter of kits, all of which were unique foxes. From the white-furred to the black pawed the red-tailed to the grey snout, and the brown belly to the gold ears. All foxes are said to be children of Cadmean and her mortal lover.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But soon, she was discovered by her kindred in the sky, who grew concerned with her whereabouts. But upon hearing of Cadmean’s love for a mortal being, Astraeus the god who controlled the other immortals was furious at this union between goddess and mortal. Astraeus created and shaped a being known as a hound, with one purpose, to rid the world of Cadmean’s children and her lover, and to return Cadmean herself to the stars, so that she may be judged.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Upon hearing of Astraeus’ plans, Cadmean’s father, Vulpecula, fearing for his daughter’s safety, warned her of Astraeus’ hound and helped her hide her children and the Reynard from the wrath of the gods. Vulpecula knowing that his daughter was not one to hide blessed his daughter with such speed so that she may never be caught.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But Astraeus was old and wise, and he knew of foxes’ treachery, and to punish Vulpecula for his betrayal, he too gave to his devilish hound the power so that it may never fail to catch whatever it sought to hunt.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The god of the night sky Vulpecula, knowing that his daughter Cadmean was eternally cursed to be ever hunted by a monstrous corrupted abomination of his distant cousin Lupus, was forced to plead to Astraeus for forgiveness and mercy on Cadmean’s behalf. Astraeus appeared to be moved by Vulpecula’s words and agreed for leniency, but only on the condition that the Reynard were to be killed, and Cadmean exiled to a mortal life forever alone, never to return to the stars.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Vulpecula agreed to such terms, but he was a fox of cunningness and devised a plan in secrecy, he travelled to across the stars, carrying with him a goose and approached his cousin Lupus. Vulpecula offered his cousin the goose for his aide, and discussed his plan. The plan was for Lupus to disguise himself as the Reynard, so that he may escape his fate of death.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Lupus, being an immortal would not die, so the punishment of death would do him no harm. And when the deed is done, and Astraeus tricked into believing of the Reynard’s demise, Vulpecula would then use his powers to connect the fate of Cadmean and the unknown Reynard eternally, so that even through death, they would always find each other again, from one life to the next.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lupus, who upon hearing it, was moved by such love, that he too made it so that all wolves and their packs should follow this eternal bond. Because of this bond of eternal love, the tradition of a mate for life was born.”</em>
</p>
<p>“There’s a lot more to that old story, but I simplified it for you. Remember this Nick, just like Cadmean and the Reynard, when you pick a mate, they will always be with you. A mate for life is eternal”</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <strong>Present day</strong>
</p>
<p>I buried the memory away, from what mom and dad told me, and what I learned throughout my teenage years, the bond between mates is a special connection that is built on trust, love, and desire.</p>
<p>There wasn’t some magical spell that bounded you together like with Cadmean and the Reynard, but instead it is how much your mate means to you, that keeps you with them.</p>
<p>The status of mates is a special title, which is why most mate for life, because the chances of being able to find someone just as special, is almost impossible.</p>
<p>And this bond wasn’t just between foxes, but a majority of all species of Caninae also share this bond of mating, although it was quite rare and generally frowned upon for Canines to pick a new mate, there were still rare instances of couples who end up splitting and finding a new one.</p>
<p>And perhaps, that is what Nicole did; she had a new mate, a new life, a new Kit. <em>‘But if she did...why did her kit call me dad. It doesn’t make any sense’</em> I wondered. As my thoughts circled this little conundrum, I heard a muffled voice, calling my name.</p>
<p><em>“Wilde”</em>, the voice kept repeating my last name, each call becoming clearer and clearer. The voice started to change in tone, becoming louder with each call. Then it came to me, I realized that I was still in Bogo’s office which meant…</p>
<p>”WILDE!” Shouted Bogo, I jumped as I heard the deafening roar of the Chief’s voice. “Are you listening to me?”</p>
<p>“Y-yes Sir” I stuttered, trying to recover from the shock of being yelled at. Both Bogo and Judy stared at me, the look of annoyance plastered on their faces.</p>
<p>“Now, about that little display in the lobby,” he continued, upon hearing those words, I froze. This was what I was afraid of, having to explain to my superior about my past. I still remembered that the Chief is still in the dark about my Hustles.</p>
<p>“Whatever happened in the Lobby, I don’t care. But, I can see that this is affecting the performance of my officers, now I want you, Wilde, to take the next two weeks off to sort it out, in the meantime…”</p>
<p>The Chief turned his attention from myself to Judy. “Hopps, I believe you have some reports to write up, make sure that they’re on my desk by the end of the week, is that clear?” he asked, giving us both what is known in the Precinct as the Bogo stare.</p>
<p>“Yes sir” we answered back in unison.</p>
<p>Appearing to be seemingly satisfied, Bogo faced Judy, he looked to be in deep thought before issuing an order “Hopps, you are dismissed” he ordered.</p>
<p>“Yes sir” she replied, as she gave me a look, probably wondering why I was to stay. Seeing as there was nothing she could do, she hopped off the chair and made her way to the exit in a seemingly calm and normal fashion.</p>
<p>As soon as Judy left the room, the Chief turned his attention back on me. “Now then Wilde” he muttered, staring at me with a smirk on his face. I felt my heart quicken in preparation for any berating to come, I held my breath waiting on what the Chief has to say “See to it that Family business stays at home and away from the Precinct. It’s bad for discipline and publicity” I was confused, <em>‘family business? What did he mean by family business?’</em> I thought to myself.</p>
<p>“Now then, I’ve got a lot of work to do, dismissed Wilde” announced the Chief, as he turned his attention onto some files.</p>
<p>Making my exit from the Chief’s office, I decided to scrounge up any information about that mysterious Kit. I had to be careful as to not bump into Judy otherwise, she’ll just pester me about Nicole, and I did not want Judy to know about my past relationship with her.</p>
<p>I made my way towards the office<em> ‘The database should have plenty of information about the Kit’</em> I thought. Unfortunately, my desk was right next to Judy’s, so I had to pray and hope that she wasn’t there.</p>
<p>I peered into the office, the room was filled with an array of cubicles, each one purposed to aid officers in their field of work, I remembered one of the retiree inspectors gave some <em>‘inspirational’</em> words to the recruits <em>“Your best weapon on the force is not your Taser or your Tranq-pistol, but your Stapler” </em>truth be told, I’m still not sure if she was joking or not.</p>
<p>Once I was confident that the office was destitute of a pair of certain grey Bunny ears, I casually walked towards my private cubicle, passing by many familiar faces. Some officers were busy with case files, reports, e-mails and even a game of Solitaire.</p>
<p>Eventually, I arrived at my little booth, walls stickered with memos and posters, shelves lined with files and mementos. Plopping down on my office chair, I quickly loosened my tie, feeling relief as my unrestricted neck was at last free. Giving off a couple of stretches, I quickly focused myself on my task at hand.</p>
<p>Opening the ZPD Database I entered my password and login “Now let’s see” I whispered. I entered the name, Nicole White, into the database, a couple of results appeared, each showing a different mammal, I scanned the page until I found the Nicole I knew. I clicked on her file,</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Zootopia Police Department<br/>Criminal Record Sheet</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Name:</em>
  </strong>
  <em> Nicole White<br/><strong>Aliases: </strong>None<br/><strong>Sex:</strong> Female<br/><strong>Species:</strong> Arctic Fox (Vulpes Lagopus)<br/><strong>Type: </strong>Predator<br/><strong>Date of Birth:</strong> 15<sup>th</sup> April 1987<br/><strong>Height: </strong>3’4<strong>” (103.92cm)<br/>Weight: </strong>70lb<strong> (31.7Kg)<br/>Build: </strong>Slender<br/><strong>Criminal Offenses:</strong> Assault/attempted Battery<br/>Disorderly Conduct<br/><strong>Address:</strong> <strike>120 Floe Lane, Building F, Apartment 4/Tundra Town</strike><br/><strike>1840 Elm Drive, Building E, Apartment 16/Tundra Town</strike><br/><strike>1623 Spring Haven Trail, Building J, Apartment 2/ Savannah Central<br/>1722 Bushwillow Court, Building A, Apartment 29/ Savannah Central<br/>222 Acacia St, Building G, Apartment 5/Savannah Central</strike><strong><br/>Occupation: NA</strong><br/><strong>Relations:</strong> Paul White <strong>(Sibling)</strong><br/>Nathan White <strong>(Child)<br/>Last known whereabouts: Unknown</strong></em>
</p>
<p><em>‘Nikki seems to be moving a lot, I wonder what happened’ </em>going through her file, I stopped at the relations section. ‘<em>So the kid’s name is Nathan’</em> I thought to myself, as I clicked on his file.</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Zootopia Police Department<br/>Criminal Record Sheet</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Name:</em>
  </strong>
  <em> Nathan White<br/><strong>Aliases: </strong>None<br/><strong>Sex:</strong> Male<br/><strong>Species:</strong> Red-Arctic Fox Hybrid (Vulpes Vulpes/Vulpes Lagopus)<br/><strong>Type: </strong>Predator<br/><strong>Date of Birth:</strong> 30th September 2010<br/><strong>Height: NA<br/>Weight: NA<br/>Build: NA</strong><br/><strong>Criminal Offenses:</strong> None<br/><strong>Address:</strong> <strong>NA</strong><br/><strong>Occupation: NA</strong><br/><strong>Relatives:</strong> Nicole White <strong>(Parent)</strong></em>
</p>
<p><em>‘That’s strange, there’s no record of the kit’s father’ </em>I was too preoccupied with my thoughts to notice a certain grey Bunny sneaking up behind me.</p>
<p>“Hey Nick!” yelled Judy, upon hearing her voice I panicked, I couldn’t let her know that I was searching up Nicole on the database; I spun around on my office chair, blocking my computer screen with my back.</p>
<p>“Uh, hi, Carrots” I replied calmly.</p>
<p>“How’s the face?” she asked.</p>
<p>The scratch, she was asking about the scratch. Which, I had forgotten about it myself “it's fine” I answered truthfully.</p>
<p>“What do you have there, Slick?” she asked, trying to peer behind by back; a curious look on her face.</p>
<p>“Oh, nothing interesting, just paperwork” I answered, hoping that she would lose interest.</p>
<p>After a few failed tries to peer behind my back, Judy replied with a simple “Uh-huh,” fortunately, she stopped glancing at my computer, instead she looked at me with sincerity “Listen Nick, about before…”</p>
<p><em>‘Oh boy’</em> I thought to myself <em>‘here we go again’</em></p>
<p>“I’m sorry if it felt like I was prying” she confessed. Now, this I wasn’t expecting, Judy’s usually so stubborn, <em>‘I wonder what’s gotten her to apologize.’</em></p>
<p>“It’s alright Fluff, it’s my fault for not telling you more of my past” I replied truthfully, the blame was kind of on me. Judy seemed at ease, as soon as I said those words; she was back to her old self again.</p>
<p>“How about Coffee? I’m buying” she offered.</p>
<p>Free Coffee? How could I say no to that? “Sure Fluff” I replied, smiling at the thought of free food and drink.</p>
<p>With that we left the office, walking towards the exit, bound for a break at the Café, leaving the office felt like I was leaving all my worries as well, it was as if the entire confrontation with Nicole and her son never happened like life was continuing as normal. I don’t know why, but I can’t help but feel guilty, maybe it’s the guilt for pretending that the whole thing never happened? Or maybe it’s the guilt of leaving her, all those years ago.</p>
<p>My guilty conscience was interrupted by a beckoning.</p>
<p>“Hey Nick!” yelled Clawhauser, one paw in the air gesturing us over.</p>
<p>At this point, it started to feel like Déjà vu. Judy and I walking towards Clawhauser, everyone just the same as they were before, smiles plastered on their faces, carefree looks. <em>‘Was meeting Nicole just a dream</em>?’ I raised my paw to touch my left cheek, wincing at the pain of the scratch <em>‘Nope, definitely not a dream’</em></p>
<p>Once we reached Clawhauser, I leaned on his desk, wondering what he called us over for. While Judy was left out of sight, “So what’s up Benji?” I asked.</p>
<p>Clawhauser began looking around his desk, shifting papers in all directions, before finally producing a photo from the pile of complaint forms. “Here,” he handed me the photo, smiling “your kit left this behind” I took the photo,</p>
<p><em>‘Kit? What kit?’ </em>I thought to myself, I carefully examined the photo. I recognized the picture instantly and thought back to that night.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <strong>Flashback 7 years ago, Zootopia, Downtown Fair</strong>
</p>
<p>“Come on Nick, let’s take a picture” begged Nicole, she said she wanted a keepsake, something to remember tonight by.</p>
<p>“Alright” I rolled my eyes, sometimes she was a bit childish, and I love her for it.</p>
<p>We entered the Photobooth provided by the fair, she sat in the booth and signalled me over, squeezing into the tight booth I took my seat next to her. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer, our muzzles squashed against each other.</p>
<p>“Smile!” I said as the camera flashed a few times, taking snapshots of me and Nicole. The booth began to produce the pictures we took, spitting out a few freshly printed photos. We looked over each one; a majority of the pictures were either blurred or printed out with smudges. Finally, we decided that only one was worth keeping.</p>
<p>After a brief walk, we eventually made our way to the crown jewel of the Savannah Docks Fair, the Ferris wheel, and an idea popped into mind.</p>
<p>“Hey, how about a ride on the Ferris?” I asked her, only to realize that she was already one step ahead of me, signalling me to follow her towards the Ferris wheel.</p>
<p>I looked over to Nicole, her face full of excitement as we got into a Ferris wheel cabin. I loved everything about her, her smile, her eyes, her personality, everything.</p>
<p>I decided that this was it; I’m going to tell her how I feel and how much she meant to me. Our cabin started its ascent, not many mammals rode the Ferris wheel, and so it was just me and Nicole in this cabin. Our cabin started to near the top of the wheel, I looked over to her, nervous as to how she’ll react.</p>
<p>I lift my paw, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly “Hey Nikki, I uh...wanted to tell you something” she turned around, her blue eyes staring into my soul.</p>
<p>“Yes Nick?” she asked, her eyes shimmering with trust and excitement.</p>
<p>“I...n-never mind” I quickly turned my head away in embarrassment; I mentally cursed myself for not being able to confess to her.</p>
<p>“Oh, okay” she replied, disappointment evident in her voice.</p>
<p>“Hey Nick” I turned my head around to face her, only to find my lips touching hers, she pulled me in for a kiss, a deep and passionate kiss that told us how we truly felt about each other.</p>
<p>After a brief moment our lips separated, she leaned her head on my shoulder, as we watched the spectacular night lights of the city, twinkling away like stars in the night sky.</p>
<p>“I love you Nikki” I whispered into her ear.</p>
<p>She kept her head on my shoulder, smiling as she heard those words, a moment of silence was given before she confessed “I love you too Nick”</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <strong>Flashback end</strong>
</p>
<p>That night on the Ferris wheel was worth more than all the money I’ve ever hustled, and that is the truth. I thought about the night which followed, the night which started like any normal day but ended with two love-struck Foxes in bed. I smiled at the distant memory; strangely enough the following days afterwards, Nicole did nothing but vomit, have mood swings and eat more food than the usual. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong but instead assured me that it was fine, <em>‘thinking back though, she had all the signs of a pregnant Vixen’</em> I chuckle at the thought.</p>
<p><em>‘Wait a second… Pregnant’ </em>the words were like a slap on the snout <em>‘pregnant, she was… after we…’</em> my mind started to stumble at the thought. It would explain everything that happened today, she was pregnant, that Kit at reception… that Kit…, I froze at the sudden realization, the photo falling from my grasp.</p>
<p>“Uh Nick, you alright? You’ve been staring into space for quite a while” asked Judy.</p>
<p>I could only stand there, mixed feelings of confusion, joy, regret, and fear came into mind. “I have a son” I slowly replied, still in shock.</p>
<p>“What?” asked Judy, confusion as to what I had just said.</p>
<p>“I, Nicholas Piberius Wilde, have a son”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Comments and Kudos are heavily appreciated. Chapter by chapter reviews are greatly wanted thanks :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The end of a day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Zootopia Downtown: Nicole’s point of view</strong>
</p><p>My father once told me <em>“My darling daughter, never let your emotions take control of your actions, else you’ll come to regret them later“</em>I never really did agree with him on that. As a Kit, I always wondered about the other emotions, like love and happiness. But now, now I know what he really meant.</p><p>I would never forget how scared Nathan was, the fear on his muzzle made me realize how I failed as a mother, how I was the cause of his fear, how he was afraid of me. I realized that it must be scarring for a child to see their parents fighting, something that can change how they view the world. Something that I’d hoped that he would never see.</p><p>Nathan and I walked back home in silence, I glanced down at him, his usual cheerful self-was absent, instead, he looked sad, seeing him like that was distressing.</p><p>“What’s wrong sweetie?” I asked, hoping to discover what troubled him. Instead of answering me he just kept silent, he turned his attention towards something else, ignoring me. It pained my heart, to have him ignore me like that…and possibly hate me.</p><p>It was the first time he did this, and it was because of Nick. In the seven years of Nathan’s life, Nick was never there for him, he was never there for his birthday, his first Christmas, he was never there as a father. Yet he looked up to him, he adored him.</p><p>We continued our walk in silence, our apartment home just a few streets away. I was worried at what my son was thinking in that little head of his, I didn’t want to lose my precious little boy, I didn’t want him to get hurt in any way. I peered around the street, hoping to find something to take both, my son’s and my mind off Nick, and there it was, Jumbeaux’s Café; an Ice cream Parlour that had a reputation for refusing service to smaller mammals.</p><p>I prayed that the owner would be reasonable today; I bent down towards my red bundle of joy “Hey, how about some Ice cream? Hmm? Mommy knows that you love Ice cream” he was hesitant to accept my offer; I could just see him contemplating the thought of delicious Ice cream or Popsicle.</p><p>Eventually, he gave in to his sugary desires with a simple nod, finally, I was getting somewhere, I haven’t gotten him to open up yet, but at least I have something to work on.</p><p>Upon arriving at the Parlour, I realized that our path was blocked by an Elephant sized wooden door. At first, I tried knocking, trying to grab the attention of one of the patrons inside the parlour to open the door “Excuse me” I shouted, but my cries fell on deaf ears.</p><p>I tried pushing the door, putting all my weight and strength to try to shove it open. Nothing, it didn’t even budge, I looked up and saw the doorknob, the handle had to be turned for the door to be opened. Yet it was far above from the ground, too far for a Vixen such as me.</p><p>Frustrated I shouted, “How the heck am I supposed to open this?” I glanced over to Nathan, a smile grew on his muzzle, <em>‘what was he thinking?’</em> I wondered.</p><p>We sat on a nearby bench; we decided to wait around the Parlour until the door would open. While waiting, we got a few stares from passersby, I suppose two Foxes waiting near an Ice cream parlour, was a tad bit suspicious, almost like a planned robbery was going to take place, I chuckled at the thought.</p><p>I turned my attention back to my son, although I wanted to move on from today, I had to make sure it could never happen again. “Nathan...” I began, as I prepared myself for what was to come. “Why did you run away from school? I was so worried about you” I stated, feeling my ears fold back into a state of dejection.</p><p>He just stared at the ground; both his tail and ears began to droop “T-they didn’t believe me, my friends called me a liar fox because I told them Dad was a cop” he mumbled.</p><p>It was as I feared, although indirectly, Nick was already causing so much hurt to my baby boy. “Sweetheart, remember what I told you?” I asked.</p><p>“Yeah...you said that mammals would always think that we’re lying, just because we’re...different...” he paused for a bit, letting out another sigh before continuing “but why?” he asked.</p><p>“Sweetheart, you’re a big boy now, you need to understand that this is how it is and that you can’t change who we are” I explained, as I reached out to pet his ears, hoping that he would understand my words now, so he’d never experience this sort of pain again.</p><p>“Now about your friends...” I continued, letting out a sigh “what they did was wrong, they shouldn’t have called you names. But you shouldn’t have told them about Ni-...Your father in the first place” I replied</p><p>“But...”</p><p>“Nathan” I called out, raising my voice “when you’re older, then you’ll understand...but for now, I want you to apologise to your friends, I’m sure they’ll apologize too. And I want you to apologise to your teachers for running away. Okay?” I continued.</p><p>He let out a small sigh “okay” he muttered</p><p>Smiling at him, I began to rub his head, thinking about how he probably felt. I didn’t like to tell him off like that, but I had to. It was best for him.</p><p>My thoughts were interrupted by a beckon “Mom” whispered Nathan.</p><p>“Yes dear, what is it?” I asked, trying to hide my tiredness in my voice.</p><p>Nathan was reluctant to answer; it was as if he was scared to say what he wanted. Finally, he had decided, he looked up at me with those blue eyes of his “Why did you hit Dad?”</p><p>Now, this surprised me, I wasn’t expecting to be asked about something; even I wasn’t sure about. <em>“Why? Why did I hit Nick? Was it anger? Was it because he left me all those years ago? No, that wasn’t it.”</em></p><p>I wasn’t sure myself, but I could only guess; that in my heart, I felt that It was fear, fear that Nick would try to take my kit away from me, that he would get between me and my son.</p><p>The thought of my sweet adorable son being taken from me was unbearable, Nathan is all I have left, he’s the reason why I decided to live, instead of ending it that night, he’s the reason why I’m living a happy life instead of a sad lonely miserable one.</p><p>My thoughts again were interrupted by a tug at my sleeve, “Mom?” I realized I’ve been caught in my thoughts again.</p><p>I looked down at my little red prince, his blue eyes; still staring at me, waiting for an answer, I decided to give him an honest answer “Well sweetie, to tell you the truth, I don’t know myself” I lied, hoping to satisfy his curiosity.</p><p>“Oh!” he replied, surprised at my answer. With a bit of thinking, he continued “I think you should say sorry to Dad”</p><p>I thought about what he just said. <em>‘Sorry? I haven’t seen Nick in seven years, and I have to be the one to say sorry?’ </em>I let out a sigh as I examined my paws, tiny dried specks of blood-stained my claws red. I gave them a quick rub, trying my best to clean the blood off <em>‘I guess I should at least apologise for scratching him</em>’ I noted to myself.</p><p>I looked down and smiled at my baby boy “Alright, the next time I see him I’ll say I’m sorry”</p><p>My little boy then smiled at me and I smiled back, my little Nathan, he is the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn’t care if Nick found out about him; I just wanted my baby boy to be happy.</p><p>I rubbed Nathan’s head, feeling his soft Red fur run between my fingers, “Mom” he spoke, in an annoyed tone. I ignored his pleas and continued roughing up his fur, my ears perked up as I heard a bell being rung, turning around I saw an Elephant open the door with a calf in tow, this was it our chance to get some Ice cream.</p><p>I picked up my son and hopped off the bench, holding his paw we slowly walking towards the door, there was still plenty of time before it closed, and that Elephant was still at the doorway, I turned my gaze to him “Alright honey, it’s time for some Ice cream, what do you want?” I asked as we continued our walk towards the Parlour. As I was busy talking to my sweet bundle of joy, I didn’t notice that the Elephant had already left and that the door had already swung shut until it was too late. I unknowingly walked right into the door, slamming my muzzle and body into the wooden structure.</p><p>I took a step back; wincing at the pain I just experienced, while my son was on the floor bursting with laughter <em>‘Oh? Is that how it’s going to be?’</em>I thought to myself, as a smile grew on my muzzle. I slowly approached him, he was too busy laughing to move; which made him defenceless ‘<em>Perfect’</em> I thought, I knelt towards him and began tickling him, making him burst out in laughter even louder than before.</p><p>“N-no, no, please stop” he begged, laughing as he tried to push my paws away. “Mom p-please” he cried, laughing as much as possible, tears streaming down his cheeks.</p><p>“I’m not going to stop until you promise to never ignore mommy again” I joked.</p><p>“A-a-alright, I promise” he panted out, trying to breathe. I stopped instantly, worried that I might hurt him if I continued any further. Slowly he began to calm down, I looked around and noticed that we got a few odd stares, but I ignored them, what mattered now was that Nathan was happy again.</p><p>Nathan and I slowly stood up brushing dust out of our clothes and fur, I held my paw out for him to grab, and we held paws as we continued our walk home. <em>‘What an eventful day’ </em>I thought to myself, I looked down at my boy, and he was back to his cheerful self, a smile on his muzzle. “Sorry that we didn’t get you any Ice cream sweetie”</p><p>“That’s okay” he replied.</p><p>I smiled as we continued our walk home<em>, ‘what a day, what a day indeed’</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A short chapter, but nice motherly fluff. Remember Kudos and comments are appreciated.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. How we met</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Narration</strong>
</p><p>In a lush green forest, spring has arrived, with the blooming of fresh flowers and stalks and the breeze of warm spring air; it truly was the season of new life.</p><p>Another evening of arduous hunting was done, and a wild red fox carried in his mouth the corpse of a freshly killed rabbit. This was indeed a bountiful day for the red fox, for within the forest there were numerous buried caches of dead hares and Rabbits, the product of today’s hunt, and the investment for the next winter.</p><p>With a kill in his mouth, the red fox trod through the forest woods, and towards his woodland den. Upon entering his den, he glanced over to the other occupant of his home; it was an Arctic fox in her Brown summer coat lying on a pile of dried grass. She was his mate, and in her belly, was a litter of kits nearly ready for birth.</p><p>With a wag of his tail in joy at the thought of kits, he placed the Hare down and nudged it towards her, eager to provide for his mate and kits. She shifted herself and proceeded to lick his muzzle in appreciation, before turning her gaze to the Dead Rabbit. As she began to tear apart the corpse to feed herself and her kits inside of her, a rustling sound was heard outside the den. The red fox sensing danger, cautiously poked his head outside, ready to defend his mate and kits, but there was nothing there.</p><p>Confused but cautious, the red fox waited for movement or sound, but none was found, as he returned into his den, he found that it was barren except for the torn body of the Rabbit.</p><p>He sniffed around, trying to gather a scent of his mate, but none was there, so he left the den and searched for her, for the red fox knew that a vixen with kits was not likely to survive.</p><p>But he could not find her, but far in the distance, he heard a shriek, and the scent of fox blood filled the air, he knew it was too late, and so he cried out to the world for his lost mate and kit.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Zootopia Downtown, Nick’s Apartment</strong>
</p><p>“AHHHHHH” I screamed as I jumped awake, thoughts instantly invaded my mind <em>‘Where’s the forest? Where’s my den? Where’s my mate?’</em> In a panic, I fell off whatever I was sleeping on. The fall quickly gave me the shock I needed to recollect myself; I glanced around the room taking in my surroundings.</p><p>A rather small apartment lounge was what that greeted my eyes, a nearby window gave the room a bright yellow tone. The stench of takeouts and musty air invaded my nose, it was an off-putting smell yet familiar enough to make me feel at home.</p><p>Home, that was where I am, my home was an apartment in the city, not some hole in the ground with dried grass and twigs. <em>‘The forest, the den, the vixen, it was just a dream...’ </em>I thought to myself, relieved that I wasn’t a wild fox living in the wilderness.</p><p><em>‘I may not be living in a hole...but I still lost her...’</em>  I sighed, as I began to stretch, pulling away from any stiff joints from a night on the couch. <em>‘That dream felt so real’</em></p><p>My thoughts were interrupted when my ears shot up in attention, as I heard footsteps coming from the hallway outside my flat, followed by a knock on the door.</p><p>“Nick? Are you there? It’s Judy, can you open the door?”</p><p><em>‘What is Judy doing here?’</em> I got up from the floor and headed towards the door, I stopped mid-way, muzzle palming myself <em>‘Crap, I had completely forgotten about Judy yesterday’</em> I sighed as the memories of yesterday came back <em>‘I ran off to find her...to find them both...but Judy...I left Judy at the Precinct’ </em></p><p>Guilt started to flood into my mind, as I realized I had left without even saying goodbye, and the worse part, I forgot about the free coffee <em>‘geez, thanks a lot brain’</em> I muttered to myself.</p><p>By now, I was hesitant to open the door, ‘<em>What should I do? She’s probably mad at me about yesterday’ </em>I shudder at the thought of an angry bunny just beyond that door <em>‘Maybe, maybe if I keep quiet, she’ll just leave?’</em> that was an idea but it wasn’t right, I already left Judy hanging at the Precinct, I can’t avoid her forever.</p><p>“Nick! I know you’re in there, open up”</p><p>I kept quiet; the beating of my heart quickly drowned out any background noise, the decision to let Judy in was a difficult one. It wasn’t about letting her into my apartment; it was about letting her into my past. The question is do I trust her enough?</p><p>“Nick, come on, you can’t just hide from your problems” she shouted.</p><p>Hiding...is that what I’ve been doing? For the last seven years, have I been hiding from Nicole and her...our son? <em>‘If mom and dad ever find out about this...I’m a dead fox’ </em></p><p>I walked closer towards the door, my paw reached towards the handle; my heart was in my mouth, this was it. <em>‘Judy can help me, she helped me stop conning, and she helped me become something better. With her help...maybe I can see Nicole again’</em></p><p>I forced a smile on my face and opened the door “Hey Fluff, who said I was hiding?” I joked. “So what are you looking for Carrots?” I asked.</p><p>“Nick, I want to know what happened yesterday”</p><p>“Yesterday? I uh...” I tried thinking of an excuse “I had to go to the bathroom” I lied.</p><p>“Really? Because you ran in the opposite direction of the bathroom you ran right out the Precinct” corrected Judy.</p><p>“I uh...actually...” I mumbled.</p><p>“Nick, come clean, who was that vixen? What happened yesterday?” demanded Judy.</p><p>“She’s my ex!” I shouted.</p><p>Judy was reeling in from the shock; I took a deep breath and calmed myself before continuing.</p><p>“She was pregnant when I...I left her, that Kit yesterday, that was her Son, my Son”</p><p>“Sweet Cheese and Crackers, are you sure?” questioned Judy.</p><p>“You saw him too, there’s no denying it. The little guy looks just like me”</p><p>“Nick, I think you’re jumping to conclusions here, he could belong to some other tod”</p><p>“NO!” I shouted, baring my teeth, Judy flinched back a bit; I took another breath to calm myself.</p><p>“Judy you don’t get it, it’s a Fox thing… foxes mate for life, I picked her and she picked me. No other Tod would dare touch her, and they should know better!” I growled my muscles starting to tense with my ears forward and erect, ready to lash out against anything. I let out a sigh, as I pushed the instinctual thought away.</p><p>Judy’s ears started to droop as she stared at the floor; she then spoke, in almost a whisper “Did you know?”</p><p>“Know what? That she had a kit in her? No, I did not” I made it simple and clear, I turned to look elsewhere, trying to cool the rising tension between us.</p><p>Judy took a moment to take it all in, before confronting me about Nicole.</p><p>“I want to know everything about that Vixen” she demanded.</p><p>“Everything?” I asked.</p><p>“Everything!”</p><p>I sighed <em>‘What I’ve gotten myself into? Too late to back out now’ </em>I thought, I took a deep breath before answering her, “Fine, I’ll tell you everything” I gestured Judy towards the couch. “Where to begin?” I asked.</p><p>“How about, her name and how you two met?” she suggested.</p><p>“Right, well, first off, her name is Nicole, Nicole White. As to how we met...”</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Eight years ago: Zootopia, Tundratown, Mr Big’s House</strong>
</p><p>I waited outside Mr Big’s study room, he wanted to see me for some reason ‘<em>Maybe he’s got a job for me’ </em>I thought to myself. The silence outside the study room quickly grew eerie, as the only sound that could be heard, was the ticking of a nearby Grandfather clock. The waiting and silence quickly brought uneasy thoughts to mind <em>‘What if I’ve offended him? What if he wants to have me iced!’ </em>Panicked, I quickly looked around, planning possible escape routes. My planning was interrupted when the door to the study eased open, a Polar bear in a black suit stepped out.</p><p>“Mr Big will see you now”</p><p>As I walked past him and into the study, the door closed behind me, blocking my exit. Inside Mr Big’s study, the lights were off, and the shutters were closed, leaving the room in darkness. Within the sea of inky blackness, two sets of glowing eyes were present, both of them directed towards me. Their gaze made my body instinctively tense in fear, fear of an unknown predator waiting to pounce.</p><p>Additionally, an ember glow was also present, but nearer to my eye level, this soft glow emitted what I would assume to be the scent of tobacco, giving me the idea that the glow was possibly Mr Big with a cigar.</p><p>Before my eyes could adjust to the darkness, the voice of Mr Big was heard “Lights” he cried. And the room was flooded with a newfound brightness, blinded for a second; I flinched back in surprise, shielding my sensitive eyes with my paws.</p><p>As I was readjusted to the brightness, I began to take notice of Mr Big sitting in his chair on his desk, along with Koslov and another bear standing to the side.</p><p>I stared at the well dressed Shrew, as he blew a puff of smoke from his mouth.</p><p>“Ahh, Nicky my boy, come closer”</p><p>I slowly humbly approached Mr Big, keeping my head low in respect.</p><p>“No need to be so polite Nicholas, we’re all family here” I began to relax a bit, but I was still a bit cautious, as Mr Big can change when he talks about family, and when he talks about business.</p><p>“You look tired Nicky, maybe all that hustling has gone to your head” Mr Big snapped his fingers, and one of the Polar bears handed me a white card with a golden fox stamp on it. “Take it Nicholas, a gift from Grandmama” he stated, letting out a laugh as he took another puff from his cigar.</p><p>I read the card <em>‘Sly Angels Massage. For all your vulpine desires’</em></p><p>“Koslov has a place that will make all your worries disappear. I’m sure you will love it” a smile grew on the shrew’s face.</p><p>
  <strong>Zootopia, Tundratown</strong>
</p><p>I stood outside the establishment; a white wooden sign read <em>‘Sly Angels Massage’</em> the same as the card. I was hesitant to enter <em>‘what kind of place is this?’ </em>I thought to myself, however, I knew only two things, <em>‘one, this is probably a Massage Salon, and two, I really could use a Massage’ </em>with that in mind I pushed the door open.</p><p>The warm air inside the building clashed with the coldness of Tundratown, quickly changing the atmosphere; as I walked inside, the door closed behind me, I looked around. It was a simple white room, the receptionist desk was occupied by an elderly Arctic Wolf who taking a nap.</p><p>I walked up towards the desk and proceeded to ring the receptionist bell. The dinging of the bell was hypnotic as it quickly filled the silence of the room.</p><p>“Où est la nourriture?!” the old wolf woke from his slumber, he then quickly studied his surroundings before turning his attention towards me “Ah...good...” he glanced at a nearby clock “afternoon sir, what can I do for you?”</p><p>“One massage please, old-timer” I answered.</p><p>“Ah, your membership card then please”</p><p>“Membership card?” I asked, uncertain as to what he was talking about.</p><p>“Well this is a respected establishment, we don’t let any bozo come in, else they’ll be trouble for the girls, so if you don’t have one, I’m afraid I must ask you to leave” he answered; with a tone of hostility in his voice.</p><p>I reached into my pockets and pulled out the card Mr Big gave me earlier “Here” I handed him the card.</p><p>The old wolf studied it, examining the golden stamp and the numbers printed on the other side, he then proceeded to type on his computer before scanning the card. He then handed it back “everything checks out Mr Wilde” he answered, giving me a leather menu with gold letterings “what will it be?”</p><p>I studied the elaborately designed menu, various choices were listed. I decided to just go with a simple back rub “Standard back rub please” I answered.</p><p>A sly smile grew on the old wolf’s face, as he reached for the telephone and proceeded to dial a number “Hey Nikki, Jacob here. Job for you” he then hung up, the old wolf then turned his attention towards me “please wait here”</p><p>Not long after he said that a beautiful white Vixen entered the reception, I was dumbfounded at how gorgeous she was. The old wolf then spoke “Ah Nikki, there you are. Please escort Mr Wilde here to the standard” the Vixen nodded her head, she then turned towards me.</p><p>“Right this way Mr Wilde” when she spoke my heart only pounded, even more, I only stood there as she waited “Mr Wilde?” she asked in a confused tone.</p><p>I realized that I must have looked like an idiot, I quickly snapped out of my daze and followed her down the small hallway, we then entered a small room.</p><p>“Changing room’s on the right, Mr Wilde” she gestured, I got into the changing room, still thinking of her, her white fur, her cute smile, her shimmering blue eyes.</p><p>I exited the changing rooms wrapped in a white towel, I looked at her and smiled, her ears tucked backwards before she smiled back, and looked away in embarrassment. I got on the massage table that was placed in the centre of the room, lying on my stomach she then started rubbing my back.</p><p>The feeling was bliss, my heart pounded even harder as I felt her soft fur-covered paws caressing my backside in a smooth gentle motion, and it was heavenly, soon afterwards I fell asleep when I woke up, she was gone.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Present Day: Zootopia Downtown, Nick’s Apartment</strong>
</p><p>“I kept coming back, every week I worked up a little more courage to talk to her. It wasn’t until after a while, that I asked her for her number, and from there we started dating” I revealed to Judy.</p><p>“Wow,” she said in awe “What happened between you two?” she queried, concern in her voice.</p><p>“I...I made a mistake Judy, I got angry...we argued, and then I left her” I revealed, burying my muzzle into my paws in shame.</p><p>“Do you still love her?” she asked.</p><p>I took a moment to think about the question “I’m not sure Judes...I’m not sure” I answered.</p><p>“So what are you going to do now?” she asked.</p><p>“I don’t know Fluff, I want to talk to her about...the kit at least” I answered.</p><p>“Well, why don’t you?”</p><p>“I-I don’t know where she lives” I confessed in a defeated tone.</p><p>“What?! So you’re just going to give up?” she protested.</p><p>“No, I’m not giving up, I just...”</p><p>“Just what?” she interjected.</p><p>I stayed silent, unsure as to how to answer. Silence passed as Judy tried to calm herself, I tried thinking of what to do, suddenly my phone started buzzing in my pocket, I picked it up, it was a text <em>‘Hey Nick, got time for a drink? I’m buying’<br/>-Finnick</em></p><p>“Don’t you know anyone who might know where she lives?”</p><p>A smile grew on my face as an idea popped into mind “yeah, I know someone who might”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>To answer the most asked question. Is this a WildeHopps?<br/>As much as I'd like to keep you all guessing and wondering, I'm going to be a spoilsport and say no, this is not a FoxRabbit ship we're sailing. Instead, follow us on how this story plays out between our well known cop dou Judy Hopps and Nick WIlde. How will Judy take this? What will Nick do? What will Nathan or Nicole do? Find out next time.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Jealousy starts small</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Downtown, Zootopia: Nick’s Point of View</strong>
</p><p>Judy and I stood outside my apartment and waited by the road, we were waiting for Finnick to come by, I texted him earlier to come meet up at my place.</p><p>While waiting I thought about what I told Judy before, she asked me if I still loved Nicole, and I told her that I wasn’t sure. I knew that I certainly missed her, she wasn’t just some fling, some vixen for a fun night, she was my mate, my other half.</p><p>But do I still love her? I thought about the few exes I’ve had in the past, and how the heartache with them would fade away with a few drinks.</p><p>Unlike my previous exes, she wasn’t the one that did the breaking up, I was. For once, it wasn’t my heart that got broken, it was hers.</p><p>The bitter memory of that night was still fresh in my mind.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Flashback Seven years ago, Downtown Zootopia</strong>
</p><p>“What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting like a total bitch!?” I shouted, anger flowing through my veins.</p><p>“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you just get a job like a normal mammal!” she shouted back.</p><p>“I do have a job, Nikki!” I replied, trying to calm down.</p><p>“Hustling is not a proper Job!” she protested.</p><p>“I don’t understand, why are you complaining? Why now? You never had a problem with it before!” I asked.</p><p>“Before? Well before, you didn’t try to hustle Mr. Big! I can’t believe that you sold him a Skunk Butt rug, after everything he’s done for us!”</p><p>“It’s just a rug, Nikki! And besides, maybe Mr Big has a thing for Skunk butts” I joked.</p><p>“Nick! I’m serious, how could you do it? He trusted you!”</p><p>As Nicole continued on with her ranting, I slowly thought to myself <em>‘these past few weeks have been torture, she’s been nagging and whining, and doesn’t even want to get intimate anymore. It’s like she’s gone mad, I need a break from her bullshit’</em></p><p> “NICK! Are you even listening to me!?” screamed Nicole.</p><p>I looked back at her and smiled as I thought to myself ‘<em>I don’t have to deal with this shit anymore’<br/></em>“I’m done” I spoke slowly.</p><p>“W-what?” she queried, confused as to my sudden change in tone.</p><p>“You heard me, I’m done. I’m sick of this” I confessed.</p><p>“Nick, what are you talking about?” she questioned, with a worried tone in her voice.</p><p>“I’m sick this, all of this!” I shouted as I gestured towards the entire room “I’m sick of everything, I’m sick of us and I’m sick of you!” I pointed at her.</p><p>She just stood there, shocked as to what I had just said.</p><p>I continued even further “You know when I first saw you; I thought that I had finally found someone to spend the rest of my life with. Clearly, I was wrong” I growled.</p><p>Nicole suddenly had a fearful look upon her; she stretched her paw towards me. “Nick?” she whimpered in fear. Though before her paw even touched me, I pushed her away, she fell onto the floor, clutching her stomach, tears streaming down her cheeks.</p><p>I took one last look at her “Pathetic” I mumbled to myself, as I walked out the door.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Flashback end</strong>
</p><p>I shudder at the unpleasant memory; I went back to our apartment the next day, but she wasn’t there. She left before I could realise my mistake, and that was the day of my biggest regret.</p><p>I glanced down Judy and thought how this whole situation could have an impact on her. That whole conversation from before seemed to have changed her, she wasn’t her usual optimistic bunny self, something seemed to be bothering her, but I couldn’t figure out what. I decided to ask her about it. “Hey Carrots are you okay?”</p><p>Nothing, she wasn’t responding, I started getting worried, she wasn’t usually this quiet “Judy?” I asked again, as I gently nudge her shoulder.</p><p>She suddenly seemed to snap out of her thoughts “Huh, what?” she blurted out, as she looked at me.</p><p>“Judy, what’s wrong?” I asked concern for the well-being of my partner and friend.</p><p>“Nothing Nick, just uh…tired, that’s all” she chirped, with a smile plastered on her face. As I studied her face, I noticed how her eyes were shifting to the side, trying to avoid direct eye contact, even the tone of her voice was filled with uncertainty, it was obvious that she was lying.</p><p>I gave her a sceptical look “Okay…” I replied as I continued peering down the street, hoping to spot Finnick’s Red Van. <em>‘She’s hiding something, just what is she hiding’ </em>I thought to myself.</p><p>“Are you sure Finnick knows where she lives?” she asked.</p><p>“Probably, he probably knows. If not, then he probably knows someone else who does” I replied.</p><p>“That’s a whole lot of probabilities” she stated.</p><p>Just as Judy spoke, a familiar Red Van cruised down the street “Speaking of Finn, here he comes now” I stated, as the Van came to a halt in front of me and Judy.</p><p>The Van window began to slide down, revealing Finnick in his usual black bowling shirt and sunglasses “Hey Nick, ready for that Drink?” he boasted.</p><p>I walked closer towards Finnick and leaned on the van door “Actually, Finn, I wanted to ask for a favour”</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Judy’s Point of View</strong>
</p><p>As Nick was busy talking with Finnick about the possible whereabouts of his ex, I began to return to my own personal thoughts.</p><p>I thought about how with the Kit involved, Nick would have to take responsibilities and go back, right back into the arms of that Vixen.</p><p>The thought of Nick being reunited with some mammal that he cares about is sweet and wonderful, except that it gave me this strange feeling of uneasiness. This feeling was very similar to my police intuition, yet different enough to feel like a stranger.</p><p>
  <em>‘Something isn’t right with this whole situation, I got a bad feeling in my gut I can feel it’</em>
</p><p>Throughout their seven years apart, she could have returned to him at any time, but it happened now, now when Nick is a cop with access to the ZPD.</p><p>‘<em>Slight chance it could be a hustle’ </em>I thought, I instantly thought back to when I first came to Zootopia and the Ice cream incident with Nick and Finnick, <em>‘If those two could trick me into believing that they were a Father and Son pair, then what are the chances of that Vixen doing the same to Nick?’</em></p><p>
  <em>‘Something is definitely fishy with this Nicole White’</em>
</p><p>The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I hated that Vixen, me and Nick have been partners for at least a year, suddenly this Vixen from his past pops up and he goes crazy <em>‘What does Nick see in her? What makes her so special?</em> ...<em>Wait, what am I doing? Why the heck am I thinking like this?’</em></p><p>The realization was slow but I eventually caught on ‘<em>Sweet Cheese and Crackers, I’m not jealous, am I? No, no. Judith Laverne Hopps, you cannot be jealous of your partner’s ex’ </em>I had to stop myself from thinking like this any further.</p><p>“No, no, no this can’t be happening!” I blurted out, burying my head into both of my paws. I started breathing rapidly, trying to calm myself, once calmed I lifted my head out of my paws and saw Nick and Finnick staring at me in confusion. I smiled and did a little wave, pretending that nothing happened. Nick continued to stare at me, before ultimately deciding to ignore my little outburst.</p><p>I sighed in relief <em>‘Okay Judy, focus, how can I get Nick to see that she might be using him’</em> I thought to myself, burying the prior thoughts of jealousy aside.</p><p>But before I could continue my train of thoughts, I felt a towering figure standing before me, it was Nick. <em>‘If I wanted to prove my little theory to him, I need proof’ </em>I thought. With that I continued the little charade of being interested in that Vixen, only until I can get some proof.</p><p>“So… how did it go?” I asked, trying to sound concerned.</p><p>“Finnick says that he has absolutely no idea as to where she lives or where she might be” he revealed.</p><p>“Oh” I blurted out, though in my mind I was happy as Larry <em>‘if this lead is a dead-end, then Nick would be forced to give up and forget that vixen, and then everything will go back to normal, just me and Nick’ </em>I thought, though what I didn’t know was that Nick was not the kind of Fox that would give up, no, he was far from it.</p><p>“Finnick does, however, know someone else who might help us, emphasis on the word might” stated Nick, a smirk on his face.</p><p>“Who?”</p><p>“An old friend” revealed Nick.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Downtown Zootopia, Wilde Suit-topia: Paul’s Point of View</strong>
</p><p><em>‘Boy, things here sure are boring’ </em>I thought to myself while leaning on the counter. I glanced at my watch <em>‘Only 30 minutes left to go’ </em>usually working here was not a problem, steady job, alright boss and alright pay, the only problem was, there weren't any customers.</p><p>Being in the mindset of being bored, I thought about Nick and Finnick and how they were doing. We were all close friends back then, very close friends before...the incident.</p><p>Although, I still occasionally meet up with Finnick for a few drinks once in a while. Nick, however, not so much, when he left my sister with a broken heart and a Kit in tow, I broke all contact with him. Come to think of it, the last time I saw him was years ago.</p><p>I glanced back at my watch, the numbers started to become fuzzy <em>‘Damn eyes’ </em>I mumbled to myself, as I took off my glasses to rub my tired eyes.</p><p>Suddenly the shop keeper’s bell was rung as the door was pushed open. I glanced towards the door to see a small brownish-gold black and a gray pink blur, followed by a bigger red and green blur.</p><p>The introduction of these three blobs quickly brought two familiar and one horrifying, stranger scent to my snout; I could identify the two familiar scents as foxes, while the other belonged to a rabbit, the smell of rabbit quickly brought up my instincts of fear and danger into mind <em>‘Damnit, not now’</em> I thought to myself.</p><p>I brushed aside my instinctive thoughts, and put on my glasses, and glanced back at the blurs, only to see Nick and Finnick and an unknown gray bunny.</p><p>Finnick then walked up towards me “Eh Paulie what’s up?” he asked.</p><p>“Finn! I don’t suppose you’re here to pay me back for last time?” I asked.</p><p>Suddenly I heard a yell from the back of the shop “Hey Paul, have you seen my Pinking shears?” yelled John, John was my boss and Nick’s dad. I escaped working under a hustling Wilde to find myself, working under another Wilde.</p><p>“I’ve got them right here John” I replied, holding the special scissors in my paw. John came rushing towards the front of the shop, holding a scrap of fabric and measuring tape in both paws, but upon seeing Nick, he stopped dead in his tracks, dropping the tape and piece of cloth, he paced himself towards Nick.</p><p>John then flung himself towards Nick, both paws wrapped around him “Nick! My god boy! I haven’t seen you in ages!”</p><p>“Hey, Dad, still clingy as always” joked Nick.</p><p>“And you, still wearing those damn Pawaiian shirts” joked John.</p><p>While John and Nick were busy in their little conversation, I glanced over at the bunny, <em>‘Just who is she? She looked quite familiar’ </em>she then turned in my direction, staring directly at me, my instinctive thoughts began to build up, even more, my heart started beating rapidly and I began to feel lightheaded. The memories began to flood back, the trauma, the pain, the hatred, and the damn stares.</p><p>I began hearing voices in my head <em>‘Get that white freak! Fox-away, Fox-away, spray the fox, spray its eyes!’</em></p><p><em>“No, no, no!”</em> I muttered to myself, I began clutching my head as the memories came flooding in.</p><p>“Eh bro, you okay? You don’t look too good” asked Finnick, concern in his voice.</p><p>I stared at him and felt reassurance, reassurance that I was with someone familiar, someone trusted, a fellow Fox. I started breathing slowly, calming the ongoing storm in my chest, feeling a great burden being lifted from my shoulders. I took off my glasses and began to rub the bridge of my nose.</p><p>“Yeah Finny I’m fine, j-just haven’t been sleeping well lately, heh-heh” I lied while chuckling. Trying to find humour in the sorry state I was in.</p><p>“Seriously bro, something up?” he asked, starting to get worried.</p><p>“No, it’s... nothing” I replied, steadying my nerves. I looked over at Nick and John, who were now a blur, the blur which I presumed was Nick, turned his attention towards me.</p><p><em>‘Oh no what now?’</em> I thought to myself.</p><p>“Hey Paul, long time no see” joked Nick.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” I grunted, putting on my glasses.</p><p>“Is it so much of a crime to visit an old friend?” he said.</p><p>“I didn’t know that we were still friends” I joked “So what are you here for exactly? Something tells me it’s not for a suit” I asked.</p><p>“Well, I thought maybe we’d get the gang back together,” he replied.</p><p>“Don’t lie to me Nick, you don’t roll that way anymore, you’re a cop now. So, what do you really want? Money? Information? Spit it out” I asked again, trying to keep the mood light.</p><p>Nick then lifted his paw to rub the back of his neck sheepishly “Well…uh…actually, I was hoping that you could possibly, maybe, tell me where Nicole lives?” he asked.</p><p>I couldn’t believe what he was asking, it was a bloody joke. I started laughing hysterically “Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage already?” I asked, he already broke her heart once, and I don’t intend to have him break her heart again.</p><p>I glanced down at my watch, five o’clock. I glanced over towards John, who was chatting with the rabbit “Hey John” I beckoned; he turned towards me as I pointed at my watch.</p><p>He waved me off and returned to chatting with the rabbit. I started packing away the cash register and other items on the counter; I walked past Nick, towards the coat hanger and picked up my coat and scarf.</p><p>“Hey, where are you going?” he asked.</p><p>“It’s Five o’clock, my shift’s over” I replied, as I put on my coat and scarf. I then felt someone nudging my knee, I looked down to see Finnick with a smile on his face.</p><p>“Come on Paulie, the whole gang’s here, how about a drink? For old time’s sake?” he asked.</p><p>I looked back at Nick, remembering how we were all friends at one point in our lives.</p><p>“I suppose one drink couldn’t hurt” I replied.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Drinks to sour the soul</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Downtown Zootopia Wilde Suit-topia: Paul's Point of View</strong>
</p><p>As I left John's shop with Finnick, I noticed that the city was slowly darkening; the golden sun that illuminated the world was now starting to set.</p><p>Finnick and I waited outside for Nick and his friend, I glanced down at Finnick, he was busy checking his phone. I raised my head and looked back into the shop, I saw Nick and John hugging each other <em>‘Those two’</em> I thought to myself <em>‘I wonder if they'll ever find out about Nathan, maybe they will in the future, maybe they won't, ever. Maybe Nathan will never meet either Nick or John’</em></p><p>The more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that my sweet nephew might never know the love and care of a Father or Grandfather.</p><p>In my heart, I only wanted the best for my sister and nephew, but in a world where you're a Fox in a prejudice society, the best might never come.</p><p>I thought back to what had happened inside the shop, that sudden burst of memories, those nightmarish thoughts that I had repressed for so long, came back today. I tried thinking back to what happened, the memories were always hazy, but today, when that Rabbit stared at me, everything revealed itself, the <em>'incident'</em> that made me as a small kit realize, that the world wasn't exactly friendly towards Foxes.</p><p>As I became aware of what I had repressed for so long, a headache began to form; I decided not to dwell on the thought any longer.</p><p>Instead, I turned my attention to Finn, who was still busy checking his phone.</p><p>“So, where is that place you mentioned exactly?” I asked with uncertainty.</p><p>“Well it's a Club, you'll see soon enough, we just have to wait for Nick” he assured.</p><p>“Okay...” I replied, "So, Finny, got a girl yet?” I asked.</p><p>He started chuckling “Not yet, everyone that I met turned out to be a real gold digger, you know? how about you Paul?”</p><p>“Eh, you know…” I replied, hoping that this conversation wasn't heading to where I thought it was.</p><p>A smile grew on the small Fennec's muzzle “Still shy around Women eh?”</p><p>“Shut up” I interjected in an annoyed tone.</p><p>I took a glance back into the shop, they were still in there talking, “What could be taking them so long?” I wondered, I glanced over towards the Bunny, she seemed familiar, I was unsure but, I knew that I had seen her before. I turned to Finn “So, the bunny, who is she?” I asked, curious about the identity of Nick's friend.</p><p>“Oh, you mean Judy? She’s Nick's partner” he answered nonchalantly.</p><p><em>‘Partner?’</em> I thought to myself <em>‘What on earth was he talking about?’</em> my blood started to boil <em>‘Is she? Did Nick replace my Sister with a Rabbit?!’</em> I thought. I turned my attention towards Finnick.</p><p>“What do you mean…Partner?” I asked slowly, trying to hide the anger in my voice.</p><p>“Man, did you forget? Nick's with the fuzz, remember? And Judy's his partner” replied Finnick, calmly while browsing his phone.</p><p>I started chuckling to myself the moment I heard those words, crying tears of laughter.</p><p>“What's so funny?” he asked.</p><p>“Nothing” I replied, as I took off my glasses to wipe my eyes, smiling as I realize how much I overreact to things <em>‘Always jumping to conclusions’</em> I thought to myself. I looked back into the shop, Nick and his friend were starting to leave, I glanced over at the bunny <em>‘Now I remember, this is the infamous Judy Hopps’</em></p><p>I thought back to her Night howler speech <em>‘For whatever reason, they seem to be reverting back to their primitive, savage ways’</em></p><p><em>‘Primitive, Savage, such uncivilized words, yet that is what they see us as, as uncivilized monsters’</em> I thought.</p><p>Even though she wasn't Nick's significant other, she still filled me with uneasiness and doubt; I made a personal note to be careful around her. <em>‘If prey mammals can’t trust a fox, then a fox can’t trust a prey’</em></p><p>As Nick walked out of the shop, Finn and I walked towards him, both curious to the lack of a rabbit called Judy.</p><p>“Hey Nick, where’s the rabbit?” Finn asked</p><p>“Oh she went to the bathroom for a bit, she’ll come to join us when she’s done” replied Nick, walking ahead of us towards Finn’s parked van.</p><p> The familiar red van brought back pleasant memories, I whispered to Finn as he was searching for his keys “Remember what the van used to look like? Before you had it repainted?” I asked, hoping to reminiscence about the past.</p><p>“Yeah, it was a dirty blue delivery van, we picked her up from a scrap yard” he replied, chuckling at the memory.</p><p>“I still think we should’ve just bought a new van, it took so much work to get her road worthy again” I stated</p><p> “And miss out on the times we had fixing my baby?” returned Finn, pulling out his keys and unlocking the doors.</p><p>“I think Paul is still mad about the time he got stuck under the hood” added Nick, hopping into the front seats.</p><p>“NICK! You promised me you wouldn’t bring that up” I reminded.</p><p>“Whoops, must have slipped my mind” he replied, smug as ever.</p><p>“You got stuck in my van?” cried Finnick, trying to control his laughter, as he scrambled into the driver seat.</p><p>“Hey I’d like to see you laugh when you’ve been trapped in a rust-bucket for three hours” I mumbled, making my way towards the back of the van and open the back doors, I clambered inside and proceeded to head towards the front, trying not to slip on the mess of beer cans and paper receipts at the back.</p><p>As we seated ourselves in the van, a wave of nostalgic memories flooded my mind, <em>‘just like old times’ </em>I thought to myself.</p><p>My nostalgic memory recalling was interrupted by the sound of the van door opening, and a perky pair of bunny ears protruding from the front seats. Thankfully, the fox stench in Finn’s van was enough to hide Judy’s scent.</p><p>Suddenly, I heard her voice “Where's your friend?” she asked.</p><p>I poked my head through the seats, taking care not to acknowledge her presence “Right here” I mumbled.</p><p>“What are you doing in the back?” she asked.</p><p>“There are only two seats up front remember? Someone has to sit in the back” I sighed.</p><p>“This doesn't seem safe or legal” she declared.</p><p>I rolled my eyes at her comment “Can we just go already? Before I change my mind”</p><p>Finally, after a short drive, we arrived at the supposed Club. As the van's back doors swung open, I slowly hopped off; who knew that sitting at the back of a van can cause numbness?</p><p>I stood with my head between my knees, as I felt the blood pass through my legs. Suddenly I felt a paw on my shoulder, I glanced up at the owner of the paw; it was Nick.</p><p>“Feeling okay bud?” asked Nick.</p><p>“Yeah, forgot how bumpy riding with Finn was” I replied</p><p>“Nothing a few drinks can't fix” he chuckled.</p><p>“Yeah…drinks” I replied slowly, as I brushed his paw off.</p><p>Suddenly I heard Finnick shouting behind me “Hey, come on you two, Judy and I are dying of Sobriety here”</p><p>“Yeah, come on guys” shouted Judy.</p><p>“Alright, just give us a sec” replied Nick. “You right to go Paul?” he asked.</p><p>I let out a sigh in frustration; I didn’t know how much longer I could keep it up “Does…does your…rabbit friend have to follow us everywhere?”</p><p>Nick’s ears laid flat on his head, his eyes opened wide as though it finally came through to him “Oh no…Paul I’m sorry, I forgot about your…condition”</p><p>I stared at him with a pained expression, <em>‘have we drifted that far apart for him to forget?’</em></p><p>“It’s just that with everything happening, and that Judy’s a close friend and…”</p><p>I raised my paw to silence his rambling “it’s okay Nick, I was being selfish…I think I-I can hold out a bit longer, a few drinks would certainly help” I answered, forcing myself to smile.</p><p>“Are you sure?” he replied, a worried expression stapled on his muzzle.</p><p>“Yeah” I answered, as I slowly stood up “Let's not keep them waiting”</p><p>As we approached the club, I noticed a large blue neon sign; displaying the word <em>'Tranquillity'</em> the sign illuminated the street outside the building with a bluish hue. Right underneath the sign, sheltered under a small roof, awaited a long line of various mammals, which seemed to almost consist entirely of predators.</p><p>The entrance of the club was overlooked by a Gray Rhino in a black suit. “Looks like we'll be waiting the whole night” whispered Nick, as he pointed towards the long queue of mammals.</p><p>I gave a small laugh in reply “Don't be too sure on that, five bucks, say that Finn can get us past the line”</p><p>Nick gave me a sceptical look before replying “You're on” he replied.</p><p>As we strolled over towards the entrance, the Rhino turned his attention towards Finnick “Hey Finn, haven't seen you here in a while”</p><p>“Hey Raymond my man, how's it going?” asked Finnick.</p><p>“Eh, same old, same old. You heading inside?” he asked, gesturing towards the door.</p><p>“Yeah, and I've brought some friends” Finn explained.</p><p>“Well go right on in" added Raymond, as he opened the door.</p><p>“Thanks, Ray, catch you later”</p><p>As we walked past Raymond, I gently nudged Nick and whispered into his ear “We got in, five bucks pay up” I reminded him, as I stretched out my paw.</p><p>Nick was grumbling as he reached for his wallet and pulled out a five-dollar bill “I'll get you back on that” he mumbled.</p><p>“I like to see how” I replied, as I looked at Nick with a smug face.</p><p>As I pocketed the five dollars, I felt a small tap on my back, I glanced down at the source of the tap, it was Judy. She looked at me with her signature smile, the same ones I saw on the news and billboards.</p><p>“Hi, so I realized that we haven't been properly introduced yet, I’m Judy” she disclaimed, as she held out her paw.</p><p>“P...Paul” I spoke, as I hesitantly shook her paw. <em>‘Please just go away’</em> I thought to myself.</p><p>“So, you're a friend of Nick?” she asked</p><p>“You could...Yeah... you could say that” I answered, stumbling with my words.</p><p>We continued walking deeper into <em>'Tranquillity'</em> the usual smell of alcohol welcomed us, but upon stepping into the Club, I was surprised at what I saw, I looked over at Nick and Judy, who were just as surprised as I was.</p><p>Instead of a stereotypical night Club, the place was, in fact, a stylish lounge. None of the usual loud blaring music with flashing lights of a typical night Club was to be found in this place, instead, the place was dimmed with lights that created a calming atmosphere; the air was filled with rhythmic Jazz.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Downtown Zootopia, Tranquility: Nick's Point of View</strong>
</p><p>We all stood there, admiring the spectacular beauty of the place, we followed Finnick as he headed towards the bar, taking our seats at the counter, the bartender; a brown stag, approached us “What will it be lads?” he asked while leaning on the counter.</p><p>Finnick paused for a split second before answering “I'll take a light beer”</p><p>“Make that two beers” I added.</p><p>“S-scotch, le-leave the bottle please” declared Paul, by now he was shaking and skittish. I sighed and took a good look at him, Paul White, one of my dear friends who is now going to drown himself in alcohol, all because of me, I just had to get Judy involved, and now my friend is paying for it.</p><p>The least I could do for my poor buddy was to make sure Judy doesn’t bother him too much, he deserves some peaceful rest, I owe him that much. I gestured the stag closer “Oh, and Carrot cocktail for my friend over there” I whispered.</p><p>As the bartender started to fill out our orders, I heard Judy whispering to me “Nick, what are you doing? You know I don't drink!” she reminded me in an annoyed tone.</p><p>“First time for everything Carrots” I replied, hoping she would take the bait and drink herself to sleep.</p><p>I looked back at the bartender, who had filled the counter with various glasses of a brownish liquid “Two beers, a glass of scotch and one carrot cocktail” he declared.</p><p>“Just like old times eh Nick?” suggested Finnick as he grabbed his drink.</p><p>I glanced over at Paul and Judy, Paul was just staring at the glass in his paw, swirling the scotch around, he looked lost, meanwhile, Judy seemed hesitant to drink her carrot cocktail, she was, however, nibbling on the carrot stick sticking out of the tall glass.</p><p>I leaned towards Paul and nudged him in the hips “How are you feeling now? Better?” I asked in a concerned tone.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, better...good...terrific” he muttered.</p><p>“You sure?” I questioned, I was starting to get worried myself.</p><p>“Y-yeah, I'm fine” he mumbled,</p><p>“Paul, I know that you’re not okay, I’m sorry that I brought my <em>‘friend’</em>, I’ll make it up to you, just tell me what’s wrong” I assured him.</p><p>“Look, it's nothing okay?!” he shouted, he was getting annoyed at my pestering.</p><p>“Okay, just trying to help” I replied in defeat, slowly easing him into a guilty conscience.</p><p>“Look, Nick, I'm sorry, it's just, a lot of things have been happening, what with your <em>‘friend’</em> and everything” he confessed, burying his head into his paws.</p><p>“Like?” I asked, hoping that he'll reveal something secretive.</p><p>He suddenly gave me a sceptical look, before chuckling “Oh Nick, you're going to have to do much better than that” he declared.</p><p>
  <em>‘Well...at least he’s laughing now, so I guess he’s feeling a little better’</em>
</p><p>“You know me too well” I joked. I grabbed my glass of beer, raising the glass in the air, I shouted “Here's to a renewal of Friendship” as I looked at both Finnick and Paul.</p><p>Paul was hesitant before raising his glass of Scotch “Friends till the end” he replied, a smile on his muzzle.</p><p>“And here's to good times ahead” added Finnick.</p><p>The three of us then poured our drinks into our mouths, emptying the contents of the glasses in a synchronized fashion. After that, however, Paul started coughing “T-The Scotch's a bit stronger than I r-remembered” he wheezed.</p><p>The classic Jazz and quiet ambience of the club were quickly replaced with an Arctic Fox trying very hard to not to die from coughing his lungs out, much to his annoyance, however, he couldn't do anything as he was still violently coughing.</p><p>“Bartender, another round please,” I asked, as Paul continued his coughs.</p><p>Paul's coughing continued for a few more seconds, before slowly dying down. I glanced around the club, the few other patrons who were previously staring quickly returned to their own private business. Looking around, I spied a familiar female wolf in a red sequin dress, she seemed to have noticed the commotion, as she sauntered over towards us “Well if it isn't the con-artist duo, Nick and Finn”</p><p>“Hey, Emily” I replied, “What are you doing here?" I asked.</p><p>She seemed surprised at my question “Didn't Finn tell you? I’m the owner”</p><p>“Really?” I blurted out in surprise “I had no idea” I said as I eyed Finnick with an annoyed look.</p><p>“So, you going to introduce me to your friends?” she asked, as she looked at Judy and Paul.</p><p>“Well, Emily, meet Paul and...”</p><p>“Hi, I'm Judy Hopps,” she interrupted, as she held out her paw for Emily to shake. Emily shook Judy's paw, before turning her gaze to Paul.</p><p>“P-Paul White” he spoke in a soft tone, as he leaned closer to shake Emily's hand, he then returned to staring at his second glass of Scotch.</p><p><em>‘Wow, he's a lot less shy than the last time that drink must have loosened him up’</em> I thought, as I chuckled to myself.</p><p>Suddenly, I heard a phone ringing in Paul's direction, I glanced at him, as he pulled out a phone and glanced at the screen, I could hear him sighing to himself  “Not again” before he turned to us “S-Sorry guys, I have to take this” he muttered, as he walked away.</p><p>As Paul stood up, I took a glance at Judy, the Carrot Cocktail was half empty, and next to it, was a snoring grey bunny “Looks like someone couldn't handle their drink” whispered Emily as she sat down next to Finn.</p><p>She had the same personality as I had remembered from last time ‘<em>Come to think of it, I haven't seen her in a long-time’ </em>I thought to myself.</p><p>“So Nick, last I heard, you went clean, how's that going?” she asked.</p><p>“Fine, fine” I replied as I took a sip of beer.</p><p>Emily leaned closer towards me, placing her head in between Finnick's ears “So is Judy your girlfriend?” she whispered, her dark brown eyes sparkled with curiosity.</p><p>I instantly started choking on my beer, coughing and spitting the alcohol out of my lungs, I was surprised at the sudden question “W-what?” I spurted out in confusion, after a brief recovery, I replied quickly to Emily's question “N-no, Judy's just a friend” I confessed.</p><p>“Guys, I'd appreciate it, if you didn't have this conversation on my head” declared Finnick.</p><p>“Oops, sorry Finny” gasped Emily, as she rose from Finnick's head “Speaking of friends, your friend Paul, he seemed troubled” she stated.</p><p>“Yeah he's like that; it’s a long personal story, not mine to tell”</p><p>“And that's why our dear Paulie has issues with the dating game” revealed Finnick, as he took a sip of beer.</p><p>“Really?” she chirped, “So would you say that he’s somewhat of a dating challenge?” she asked. I looked at her with a confused look, before looking at Finn, who just shrugged his shoulders, and returned to drinking.</p><p>“Uh, yeah? I think so, why?” I asked, in a cautious tone.</p><p>“Oh, no reason” she replied nonchalantly, giving off a sly smile.</p><p><em>‘She's planning something’</em> I thought to myself. As I tried to think of what she was thinking about, I heard someone approaching, turning around, I saw Paul; he looked shaken “Everything alright?” I asked.</p><p>“Ye-Yeah, j-just da-dandy” he mumbled as he sat down, he began gulping down his second glass of scotch without difficulty or hesitation “B-Bartender, g-give me 'nother round” he stuttered.</p><p>After, what I could only presume was his fifth glass of scotch. He then immediately slammed the glass down onto the counter, I glanced at Finnick with a surprised look, he looked back with the same expression as I had. I could only guess that he was surprised too, at Paul's sudden change in behaviour.</p><p>Paul began to stare heavily at the glass in his hand, before taking off his glasses and burying his head into his paws, I could hear crying <em>‘Wait, is Paul crying?’ </em>I thought to myself, the crying was a quiet sob, but it was there.</p><p>I looked over at Finnick and Emily, they seemed to be concerned with Paul, glancing back I could hear him whispering repeatedly to himself “Why, why, why” he sobbed.</p><p>I placed my paw on his back <em>“</em>Paul, what's wrong?” I asked, concerned for his well-being.</p><p>He lifted his head from his paws, he stared directly at me, the look of utter pain in his eyes, he took a series of deep breaths, trying to calm himself “Why does it have to be so hard? Why is the world so cruel?”</p><p>“Paul tell me what’s wrong”</p><p>“The...the landlord, he found a video of Nikki causing some scene at the police station, he thinks she’s dangerous, so we’re getting evicted. Christ, Nick, we're hitting rock bottom”</p><p>I sat there shocked, the words repeated itself <em>'Evicted' </em>the thought of Nicole and my son living in the streets or worse <em>'Happytown</em>' was horrifying.</p><p>“I-I guess in the end, we-we're just n-no good, lying, c-cheating savage Foxes, we're us-useless and unwanted” he continued.</p><p>I slowly realized the effect this was having on him <em>‘He's having a breakdown’</em> I thought to myself.</p><p>Before Paul could continue his statements, however, Emily stood up and rushed towards him, hugging him tightly “Sshhhh shhhh, just relax, you're not useless or unwanted” declared Emily.</p><p>Paul only stood there hanging from Emily's arms before returning the hug “T-Thank you” I heard him whisper, before losing his grip completely and passing out into Emily's arms.</p><p>As Emily held a drunken Paul in her arms, she looked at me with a concerned face “What do we do now?” she whispered.</p><p>I pulled out my phone and looked at the time “It's getting late, I think it's time to go home” I replied, trying to keep my mind clear from the alcohol and the news of Nicole's eviction.</p><p>I picked up Paul's glasses and pocketed them, before walking over Judy, I gently nudged her “Eh Fluff, time to go” I declared.</p><p>“Mmmmh, Dad, ten more minutes” replied Judy in a drunken slur.</p><p>I sighed as I picked up Judy, scooping her up into my arms, I turned around to Finnick “You coming bud?” I asked.</p><p>“Eh, you guys go ahead, after seeing Paul so broken...I-I need some more drinks” he replied.</p><p>We left the club, walking with Judy and Paul in our arms. While walking to Emily's car, I glanced over at her; she was cradling Paul, being as gentle as possible “You enjoying yourself over there?” I joked.</p><p>Silence, she didn’t reply, she instead had a sad painful expression on her muzzle as she stared at Paul in her paws. “I...I feel so sorry for him” she confessed.</p><p>“Yeah...me too, he’s been through a lot. Even though he’s been hurt so many times, yet he stills holds a smile and pretends that everything is fine, bottling it all up. He's a nice guy too, sometimes I think, maybe he's too nice to be a Fox” I stated “Most mammals just look at him for what he is, not who he is. I'm just glad you're not one of those mammals” I pointed out.</p><p>We reached Emily’s car, a black sedan, we placed the two in the back, seating them the best we could. We got into the front, with Emily at the wheel “Drop off Judy first, Grand Pangolin Arms, then drop me, remember where I live?” I asked.</p><p>“Sure I do...though, what about your other friend?” she asked.</p><p>“Eh, I don’t know where he lives, you can take him back to your place” I blurted, the alcohol was starting to make it hard to think clearly.</p><p>“You sure about that?” questioned Emily, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, whatever” I replied.</p><p>“What a crazy night, ey Nick?”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah” I replied, as the world got slowly darker, everything seemed to turn into a blur as sleep slowly took control.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Remember to comment and leave a kudos :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Mother and Son</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Nicole's Point of view</strong>
</p><p>I woke to the continuous sound of my bedside alarm clock beeping loudly; each beep was a thunderous hammer of pain to my brain. I slammed my paw down onto the snooze button, silencing the wretched box, I laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling, I sighed to myself, as I thought of the things planned for today <em>‘Job-hunting’</em> I sighed as I threw my bed-sheets aside. I stumbled towards the bathroom, nearly tripping on my tail, upon reaching the sink mirror, I stared at my reflection<em> ‘What a mess’</em> </p><p>I peered at the clumps of tangled white fur sticking from my body, quickly, I grabbed my brush and began to comb the clumps of fur, after various tries and numerous strands of fur being pulled out, I finally managed to smooth out my body and tail fur, I looked at my reflection “Another day, another job” I sighed, as I sprayed myself with a bottle labelled <em>‘Scent remover. Perfect for mammals in heat’</em>  </p><p>After all, I didn’t want to go into an interview smelling of the season, that’ll give off the wrong ideas. <em>‘I swear, if another male hits on me, I’ll lose it’</em></p><p>Giving myself a few more sprays along my nether regions, it felt relieving to be able to hide my situation behind a bottle of scent remover. Seedy bars and clubs were always encouraging me to be open about the smell, to better attract patron and tips, a disgusting thing if you asked me.</p><p>I left the bathroom and slowly walked towards Nathan's room, the entire apartment was filled with an eerie silence, I peeked into the living room, the place was empty, no one asleep on the couch or watching TV <em>‘Looks like Paul's already gone to work’</em> I thought to myself, I gave off a loud yawn and shook the thought aside, as I arrived at Nathan's room, I gently pushed the door; the sunlight from the tiny hallway illuminated his ever so tiny room.</p><p>I carefully walked towards his bed, taking care as to not step on his few toys which littered the room. I sat on his bed, as I watched over him; he began to whimper and shake a bit as he tried to wrap his tail around himself. <em>‘Must be having a nightmare’</em> I sighed, my ears began to droop, I was saddened by the thought of my boy being in any sort of pain.</p><p>I began stroking his head, feeling his soft red fur passing between my fingers, as I wrapped my tail around him, trying the best I could to comfort him and to protect him from his nightmares. He unwrapped himself from his little tail and grabbed my tail, hugging it tightly, burying his muzzle into it. A smile grew on my muzzle as watched over my little bundle of joy “It's alright, mommy's got you” I whispered, as I felt him slowly calm down.</p><p>As Nathan's grip on my tail begins to loosen, I grabbed a nearby stuffed fox, I quickly switched my tail for the toy; he didn't seem to have noticed the switch, as he began nibbling on the stuffed Fox's ear. I tucked Nathan back into bed, making sure he was as comfortable as possible, before giving him a little kiss on his head <em>“Sweet dreams Nathan”</em> I whispered.</p><p>I left my baby to his dreams, as I went to make a cup of coffee, the smell of coffee in the air brought back pleasant memories. I thought back to when I was a kit, how often; I would wake up to be greeted by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. I remembered how, one morning, I would see my father asleep in his brown recliner with a cup of coffee in his paw, he always looked so peaceful sitting in his chair, I smiled at the distant memory, but my smile quickly turned to a frown, as I was quickly hit with the reminder that he was gone.</p><p>I shook the thought aside, as I focused back on the day. I took a seat by the kitchen, a cup of coffee in my paw “Looking for work's going to be difficult, keeping one would be even harder” I sighed to myself “Let's hope these jobs wouldn't be like the previous one” I mumbled to myself, as I began browsing my phone.</p><p>Looking through the numerous job offers, I found various places that were hiring, Bug-Burga was one, though the wages were too low for my needs; in addition to that, the idea standing behind a grill was not too attractive, Palm Hotel was looking for a cleaner, the pay seemed decent and the job wasn't a problem, the job seemed perfect; until I remembered it was in Sahara Square, I looked at myself, remembering I was an Arctic fox, bred for the cold, the heat of the Sahara would kill me “Looks like that's a big nope” I mumbled to myself.</p><p>I browsed around other jobs that seemed decent enough, however upon closer inspection, they either were too low paying or required some degree of skill or education.</p><p>After looking through many job offerings, I finally found one that seemed appropriate, <em>'The Mockingbird Restaurant- Help Wanted'</em> I tapped on the link provided. The Restaurant was located around Savannah Central, which was relatively close by, browsing through the descriptions, it would appear that they were looking for waiting staff to fill in the night shift <em>‘Night Shift eh? I'm sure Paul can take care of Nathan while I'm away’</em> I thought to myself, my mind quickly flashed back to a distant memory, the last time Paul looked after his nephew, he gave himself food poisoning trying to cook dinner; luckily enough, Nathan was fine <em>‘After that experience, I'm sure Paul would just order some takeaway instead’</em> I thought hopefully.</p><p>My ears perked up as I heard footsteps behind me, I spun around only to see my son standing in the hallway, rubbing his eyes with one paw, and holding the stuffed Fox in the other, “Mom?” he yawned.</p><p>“Nathan, what are you doing up? Go back to bed” I pleaded.</p><p>“I can't...I had a nightmare" he revealed, twitching his little nose as he began sniffling. I got up from my seat and walked towards him; I picked my baby up and hugged him tightly.</p><p>“It's alright sweetie” I sighed, as I stroked the back of his head “Now, why don't you tell me what happened,” I asked, as I took a seat on the couch with my sweet kit in my arms. He only began sniffling loudly, while he recounted the events of his nightmare.</p><p>“Well, we were at the park” he sniffled “You and dad were walking next to me”</p><p>I couldn't help but smile at the thought “Even in his dreams, Nick is the ideal father” I thought. “Go on” I assured Nathan as I caressed his head.</p><p>Holding my boy so close, made me notice how his small body shook with fright, his frantic breaths were worrying “Must have been a horrible Nightmare” I thought to myself as I hugged him even tighter.</p><p>“Then dad disappeared” he whimpered “Y-you were crying, t-then you disappeared” he cried “An-and then...” Nathan only whimpered more as he cried into my shoulder, hugging me tightly as I felt teardrops drip down onto my shoulder.</p><p>“Shhh, it's alright, mommy's here” I whispered, I began to nuzzle him, making sure he felt safe. I began humming a soft lullaby that I used to hum to him when he was just a few months old, the same lullaby that my mother used to hum to me when I was a kit.</p><p>As I sat there humming the lullaby, comforting Nathan in my arms, I thought about his nightmare, to any other kit, pup or cub around his age, the thought of being alone is terrifying. I thought back to when Nathan was a lot younger; probably when he was a few months old, how he would cry and whimper if I wasn't with him every second, it was annoying for a bit, but it was also comforting to know that he needed me, he didn't need Nick or anyone else, just me.</p><p>Slowly, Nathan's cries began to soften, as all that could be heard within the apartment was the lullaby I was humming, as the lullaby came to an end, silence filled the room. All that could be heard was the ticking of a nearby clock and the horns of cars just outside the apartment.</p><p>“Mom?” asked Nathan.</p><p>"Yes, sweetie?" I replied as I continued to nuzzle him.</p><p>“You won't disappear as you did in the nightmare, would you?” he asked.</p><p>“Of course I won't" I assured him.</p><p>“Promise?” he asked.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Flashback - 1987, 30 years ago</strong>
</p><p>“You won't leave us will you mom?” I asked as I stared into mom's blue eyes.</p><p>“Nikki dear, aside from your father, you and your brother are the most important thing to me, I would never leave you two”</p><p>“Promise?” I asked, hoping mom would keep her promise.</p><p>“I promise,” she said.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Flashback end</strong>
</p><p>She lied, she didn't keep her promise. But I intend to keep mine. “Nathan, for as long as I live, I promise that I would never, ever, leave you”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. A close call</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Nicole's point of view</strong>
</p><p>After comforting Nathan about his night terrors, I began to make my preparations for the day ahead, changing into the appropriate clothes, checking my resume and putting on makeup. As I finished, I made my way towards the kitchen, scrounging up a quick breakfast to sate both my boy and my morning appetite, it wasn't anything special, just some slightly singed pancakes with some golden syrup on top.</p><p>As I finished cooking up the last of the pancake batter, I quickly called out to my son “Nathan, breakfast is ready” I beckoned.</p><p>“Coming” was his reply. I took a seat by the kitchen counter; with breakfast all set out on the table, waiting for Nathan to come out. While waiting for him, I decided to have a little fun teasing my adorable sweet red fox.</p><p>I scooped up a pancake with a fork, the smell was amazing “Mmmm, these pancakes sure are delicious” I announced out loud, as I took a bite, making sure to savour the sweet taste in the loudest possible manner.</p><p>“Noooo, leave some for me!” he shouted, I could only smile and laugh at his adorable little pleas.</p><p>“Better hurry up before they're all gone!” I taunted.</p><p>Finally, Nathan came out of his room, all dressed and ready for the day; he scurried over towards the kitchen counter, frantically trying to climb the kitchen stool. His tail was wagging frantically; he was excited about breakfast. I gently plucked him up and sat him on the kitchen stool, I watched from the side, as he happily ate the pancakes.</p><p>“How are they? Hope they’re not too burnt” I asked.</p><p>“They're the best, mom” he cried, with his mouth full, I smiled as I continue to watch him enjoy his meal.</p><p>“Well I'm glad you like them, sweetheart” I replied as I caressed his head “Mommy's going to be busy today, so your uncle is going to be looking after you, okay?” I announced, hoping that nothing unexpected would happen today or tonight.</p><p>“Okay,” he replied, finishing his pancakes.</p><p>“Done?” I asked as I glanced over at the kitchen clock.</p><p>“Done!” he yelped, his muzzle covered with pancake crumbs.</p><p>I knelt and reached over my baby boy, with both my paws, I held him still while I gave him a thorough tongue bath, licking up all the crumbs on his muzzle.</p><p>“Mom that tickles” he protested, I finished up cleaning Nathan's muzzle of crumbs and proceeded to pat down any crumbs on my clothes, straightening my shirt from any creases.</p><p>“Alright, let's not keep your uncle waiting” I replied.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Downtown Zootopia: Bus 21</strong>
</p><p>A nice sunny beautiful day, I could have spent it with my sweet kit at the park; instead, I have to spend it looking for a job, <em>‘Isn't life just great’</em> I thought to myself. I glanced around the bus, it was empty, except for me and Nathan. Normally we would walk over to the place where my brother works because it was close to home, but today I felt too lazy to walk <em>‘Must be the pancakes’ </em>I thought to myself. Suddenly, I felt someone tugging at my tail, I gazed at whoever was touching it and found nothing but an overly energetic red fox kit “Nathan sweetie, please leave mommy's tail alone” I whispered.</p><p>“But it's so fluffy and soft” he replied, hugging my tail.</p><p>I smiled at him ‘<em>well, he's not doing any harm’</em> I thought to myself, “I suppose it is kind of fluffy, you want to know why?” I asked him.</p><p>“Why?” he asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity.</p><p>“It's for keeping warm during winter” I answered.</p><p>“I wish my tail was as fluffy as yours” he replied, staring at his own little bushy red tail.</p><p>“One day it will be sweetie, believe me, when I was your age, my tail was as hairless as an elephant's trunk, and look at it now” I assured him, giving my tail a shake in show.</p><p>“But it’ll never be as fluffy as you, I’m not an arctic…” he pouted, ears laying flat.</p><p>“Oh sweetheart, you may look like your father, but you’ve got my genes, arctic genes. You’ll be the fluffiest red fox in all of Zootopia”</p><p>“Really!?” he asked, ears perked high with tail wagging in excitement.</p><p>“Really” I replied as I looked back out the window, the bus was coming to a halt “This is our stop, come on Nathan” I beckoned, as I held out my paw.</p><p>
  <strong>Downtown Zootopia Wilde Suit-topia</strong>
</p><p>As the blue bus rolled to a stop, I grabbed my boy’s paw, and led him off the bus <em>‘Wilde suit-topia’ </em>I thought to myself, here we were, at last. As I thought back, I guess it was rather obvious that my relationship with Nick was never a serious one, not once did he ever take me to meet his parents, not once.</p><p><em>‘Makes it all the easier to leave’</em> I sighed.</p><p>Still, it was probably for the best, if Nick's dad found out about whom I was to Nick, but more importantly, if he found out about Nathan, I shuddered at the thought.</p><p>We stood outside the store; I felt my heartbeat slowly rise as I realized what lies within the shop. I felt the same feeling I felt when I saw Nick, fear, “Stay calm” I whispered to myself, <em>‘Nick's dad doesn't even know, just got to stay calm and act natural’</em> I thought.</p><p>I suddenly felt Nathan pulling my paw, he walked towards the shop window and pulled me along, he stopped to look at whatever was on display. I looked up and saw just what he was looking at, wedding dresses and suits “winter, the breeding and wedding season” I muttered under my breath.</p><p>“What's wedding season, mom?” asked Nathan, in a confused tone. I looked down at him, smiling at his cute curiosity.</p><p>“Well, wedding season is a time of year, when people get married. And for us foxes, its winter or autumn” I answered.</p><p>“Oh, okay” he replied, as he returned to gazing at the beautiful white wedding dresses.</p><p>As I looked back at the dresses, I noticed my reflection, replacing the mannequin which wore the gown; it was a perfect fit, for my reflection anyway<em>. </em>“It's too late for that now” I mumbled to myself, for some strange reason, speaking those words felt like I was giving up on something, that unknown desire that I felt buried inside my heart, one that I couldn't describe. I shook the thought aside "Come on Nathan" I beckoned.</p><p> </p><p>As we entered the store, the shopkeeper's bell rung, signalling our entry to whoever that was inside, I took one look around the shop <em>‘No sign of Paul’.</em> I thought back to the arrangement I made with my brother, he promised that he would be here and that I wouldn't have to run into Nick's dad, needless to say, that plan is now abandoned. Panicked as to what to do, I quickly blurted to my boy “Come on Nathan, let's leave”</p><p>“But we just got here” he protested, I was just about to argue back when I was suddenly interrupted by an unknown voice.</p><p>“May I...help you?” asked the unknown voice.</p><p>I felt terror and dizziness enter my body, I froze, too afraid to find out who the voice belonged to, I closed my eyes <em>‘Just act natural’</em> I thought.</p><p>I turned to face the mysterious voice; it belonged to an elderly red fox, who I presumed was the owner of Wilde Suit-topia and Nick's dad. John P. Wilde.</p><p>“I'm uh...looking for Paul, have you um...seen him?” I replied, giving off a fake smile. In reality, behind that smile, was a scared and panicked Arctic fox, I felt my ears stand to alertness in preparation of danger. I was hoping to get a simple answer and quickly leave before anything unexpected happens.</p><p>“Not since yesterday I’m afraid” he answered “Might I ask, why you're looking for him?” he asked with a tone of doubt in his voice, as he raised his ears in suspicion.</p><p>I felt myself tensing up, I was too afraid to even think, I felt the horrible feeling that he could read my mind, I took a deep breath to try to calm myself.</p><p>“Oh well, I’m his sister” I replied, in a more calm manner.</p><p>“Oh, you must be the one he was talking about” declared John.</p><p>“He...I...he talks about me a-a lot?” I replied, with a shaky voice. I was afraid that idiotic brother of mine, might have let off more than he should have, afraid that John might have already somehow found out.</p><p>“Well...no, not really, he just mentioned you once,” corrected John "Misses?” he asked.</p><p>I felt a wave of relief pass over <em>‘he doesn't know, not yet’ </em>I thought to myself, I felt myself starting to slowly relax. “White, it's just Miss. White...I’m afraid” I answered.</p><p>“Oh, uh...I’m sorry” blurted John in surprise, as his ears lowered in embarrassment, he took his attention to something else, as he crouched down towards Nathan “And who's this?” he asked.</p><p>“This is my son, Nathan” I replied, I was starting to feel nervous again “Say hi, honey” I ushered to my son.</p><p>“Hello” replied Nathan.</p><p>“Hello Nathan, my name's John Wilde, pleased to meet you” stated John, as he shook Nathan's paw, “You know, you remind me of my boy when he was your age”</p><p>“Really? Did he look like me?” he asked.</p><p>“Oh yes, you look exactly like him, I remember a time when he was nine years old when he wanted to join the scouts, he...”</p><p>“Anyway, I think we should be going now” I interrupted, remembering that I have a couple of job interviews later.</p><p>“Oh? Sorry to keep you then” replied John as he stood up.</p><p>“Come on hun” I beckoned, as I held out my paw.</p><p>As Nathan and I left the store, I heard John shout out a goodbye, just before the door closed. Once outside, I realized that I had no idea what to do, without Paul, there was no one eligible to look after Nathan “Damn it, Paul, where are you” I mumbled in frustration.</p><p>Nathan looked at me in confusion “So what do we do now?” he asked.</p><p>“I have no idea, sweetie” I answered, flustered, I let out a loud sigh.</p><p>Just as I finished letting out a sigh, a Black Sedan stop in front of the store, I was going to ignore it until I noticed just who was inside the car, it was Paul and a grey wolf on the driver's side<em> ‘Just what has my brother gotten himself into now?’ </em>I wondered.</p><p>As Paul got out of the car, I crossed my arms, in my mind, I was quite upset that I had to put up with that horrendous experience just before, while my brother was probably <em>'enjoying'</em> himself. As the Black Sedan drove off, I approached my soon to be ex-brother</p><p>“Just where the hell have you been!” I yelled “You have no idea, what I've just been through! Who was that?! And why do you smell like a wolf?” I ranted “Well?!” I shouted waiting for an answer; meanwhile, I could hear Nathan giggling to himself from the side.</p><p>“Ah...w-well....” stuttered Paul, clearly surprised at my behaviour, he raised his paws in defence, while his ears were lowered in a sign of submission and fear “First, I was at a friend's place” he answered, taking a step towards the store “Second, that was a friend, whom I just made last night” he stumbled on his tail while slowly walking towards the door “And third, it's a long story” he declared, as he backed into the doorway, fumbling around for the door handle.</p><p>I sighed heavily to myself <em>‘It can't be helped’</em> I thought, “I'll let you off this time, just make sure you look after your nephew” I reminded, I crouched down towards my son, “Okay sweetie, you be good for your uncle okay?” I asked.</p><p>“Where are you going?” asked Nathan, his voice filled with concern.</p><p>“Don't worry, I’ll be back soon, mommy's just got some things she has to do” I assured him.</p><p>He then pulled me in for a tight hug “Come back soon, okay?” he whispered.</p><p>“I will” I replied, returning the hug.</p><p>After a brief moment, Paul came up and stood next to Nathan “Uh sis” he asked “I think it's time you start heading off” he reminded.</p><p>“Oh, yes" I agreed, I let go of my precious boy and stood up, straightening myself out “Well, this is it, you remember what to do right?” I asked my brother.</p><p>“Yep, don't worry, as long as Nathan's with me, he'll be fine” assured Paul, as he patted his nephew's head.</p><p>“Right, goodbye then” I declared, looking at both my son and brother, I waved my paw in the air, and they did the same in response. Feeling nervous, I turned around and walked away.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Paul's Point of View</strong>
</p><p>As Nicole walked deeper into the city, I felt a deep feeling like I’d forgotten to tell her something <em>‘Oh well’</em> I thought. Suddenly, I heard Nathan speaking to me “You smell funny, Uncle” he revealed as he covered his nose.</p><p>I took a sniff at myself in response “must be the smell of wolf and alcohol, boy I need a shower” I mumbled. “So, how about we head inside” I insisted “Come on” I beckoned my nephew, holding out my paw.</p><p><em>‘Back into familiar territory,’</em> I thought to myself, as we entered the store. Upon our entrance, John was the first to greet us, with both of his arms crossed and an annoying look on his muzzle.</p><p>“Ah, you're finally back, so, where've you been?” he asked.</p><p>“Sorry John, uh hold up a second” I answered back, as I hung up my coat.</p><p>I crouched down towards Nathan “How about you take a look around, explore for a bit?” I asked him.</p><p>“Okay” he replied, as he went off, in an exploration of the store, <em>‘I wonder what the place looks like with the imagination of a kit’</em>.</p><p>I got back up and turned to John “Sorry John, you were saying?” I asked.</p><p>“I...I oh god...” he cried, taking a step back, and covering his nose.</p><p>I took another sniff at myself, before retching at the odour, the smell of wolf was starting to foul the air. I tried to apologise to John, before I noticed that he had retreated into the shop, remerging back with a bottle of what I could assume to be deodoriser as he gave it to me.</p><p>Taking the bottle, I began spraying every part of my body that would be the source of the odour.</p><p>As I was sniffing and spraying myself John started to talk “Well anyways, I met your sister just then” he revealed, "She seemed to be worried about something..."</p><p>“Oh uhhhh she’s got some job interviews coming up, you know how it is” I assured.</p><p>John walked closer towards me, he took a glance to where Nathan was and turned back towards me, “I noticed your sister has a kit, but uh, she doesn’t have a mate” he whispered.</p><p>My heart started beating faster <em>‘He's asking too much’</em> I thought. “Well, the uhhh...no good Tod ran out on her” I declared.</p><p>“Oh, my, that’s terrible. I sure hope he gets what’s coming to him” replied John.</p><p>I started to feel a small bit of guilt residing within me, I felt the urge to tell him everything, but I couldn't.</p><p>Suddenly I heard the shop door swing open, and the shopkeeper's bell being rung, both John and I stared at whoever entered the shop, it was Nick.</p><p>"Oh hey, Nic.." I stopped mid-sentence, I felt my eyes widening and my ears lowering in realization, <em>‘Crap’</em> I thought to myself, <em>‘Nathan's here, Nick's here, if Nathan sees him, then John's going to find out!’</em></p><p>Quickly I rushed over and shoved Nick out the door “Nick, I have something very important I need to talk to you about outside!” I blurted out.</p><p>As the door closed on us, I turned to Nick “What are you doing here?!” I blurted.</p><p>“Calm down Paul, I just came here to talk to you” he replied in an annoyed tone, as he straightened his clothes.</p><p>“You want to talk? Fine not here, let's go someplace else, just give me a second” I replied, I went back into the store to get my nephew and to say goodbye to John “Nathan? Come here, we're going” I beckoned, as I grabbed my coat.</p><p>I turned to John “I'm sorry John, but I’m going to have end my shift early today, I’ll make it up to you on Monday if that's alright with you” I asked.</p><p>"Sure, Monday, just remember to place an order for some Organza and Chiffon with Simon by then” he answered. As my nephew walked towards me, I heard John mumbling to himself “Poor guy, I wonder where his father is...”</p><p>As the door closed, I made sure John wasn't looking; luckily, he went back towards the back of the store. I took him outside, towards Nick “Dad!” he shouted in excitement, running towards Nick, hugging his legs tightly.</p><p>Nick smiled as he looked down at him “Hey bud, what are you doing here?” he asked.</p><p>“Mom needed to do something, so she left me with Uncle” he replied.</p><p>Nick then turned towards me “So, how about a cup of coffee? I’m buying” he offered.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Milkshakes and dinner dates</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Downtown Zootopia: Nick's Point of view</strong>
</p><p>I held Nathan's paw as we headed off in the direction of the cafe, the joyful smile he had unearthed the inner guilt I bore, the guilt of not being a proper father for him. I felt so useless, unable to be a part of his life, only to look in from the outside.</p><p>I turned to Paul, “So how old is he?” I whispered, making sure that my son couldn't hear.</p><p>“He just turned seven, his birthday was just two days ago” he whispered.</p><p>I glanced back at my kit, who was just peering at the surrounding buildings as we walked by<em>‘I should have been there’</em> I shook the thought aside.</p><p>I glanced back at Paul, I was curious as to what happened to him last night “So what happened last night, with Emily?” I asked, raising my eyebrows in curiosity.</p><p>“Nothing happened if that's what you're wondering” he revealed.</p><p>“So you two didn't...” I whispered to him while glancing over to Nathan, just to make sure he wasn't listening.</p><p>“Nick, why would you even think that?" he interjected, shocked by my assumption, “I mean, jeez, we only just met last night” he stated, trying to recover from the shock.</p><p>“Well, I was just wondering” I replied.</p><p>“You know just forget it, what happened last night is in the past, I don’t even remember much myself” he declared, as he flung his arm around my shoulder. “Anyway, how far till we reach that cafe of yours?” he asked.</p><p>“Not much further, it's just up ahead” I revealed,</p><p>Suddenly, I felt my paw that holding on to Nathan drag behind. I looked back at him to see what was wrong, only to catch him tiredly rubbing his eyes. “Hey, what's wrong bud?” I asked, in a friendly manner, as I knelt to his level.</p><p>“Nothing Dad, just tired” he yawned, doing a little stretch.</p><p>“Tired eh? Well, we can't have that now can we?” I replied as I scooped him up, resting my boy on my shoulders.</p><p>“Dad, I'm not that tired..." he mumbled as he dozed off in between my shoulders, resting his head on my head. For some reason, it felt comforting to have him resting there, close to me, carefree of the worries of life.</p><p>“Fatherly instincts finally kicking in eh?” smiled Paul as he whispered into my ear</p><p>“Yeah” I replied as I heard Nathan snoring on my head.</p><p>
  <strong>Downtown Zootopia Twin Peaks Café</strong>
</p><p>After a short walk, we finally arrived at Twin Peaks Café, inside; various mammals were enjoying cups of coffee, slices of cakes, sandwiches and other things you would find in a Café at this time of day.</p><p>This was the place where you'd find every cop in Zootopia during their lunch breaks, luckily for us; lunch doesn't start till an hour later, so there was no need to wait in line.</p><p>Surprisingly enough, Nathan was still asleep “Mom” he mumbled, as he hugged the back of my head.</p><p>As we approached the cashier to place our order, I turned to Paul “Just regular coffee?” I asked.</p><p>“Yeah, nothing special” he replied</p><p>I turned towards the Snow leopard cashier “Two cups of regular coffee please, and a blueberry muffin” I ordered.</p><p>“Make that two muffins" added Paul, I gave him a confused look “It's for Nathan” he replied. I turned back to the cashier, who began processing our order.</p><p>“Is that to go?” she asked.</p><p>“No” I answered.</p><p>“Name please,” she asked.</p><p>“Nick Wilde” I replied.</p><p>“That'll be fifteen dollars” she stated.</p><p>I handed her the fifteen dollars, being careful not to disturb Nathan from his nap on my head. <em>‘Now all we have to do is wait’</em></p><p>Paul and I moved over towards the corner of the Café, seating ourselves on the couch, I carefully lifted my kit from my shoulders and plopped him on the couch, he huddled up into a ball as he slept peacefully.</p><p>“He is a cute little thing isn't he?” I whispered to Paul, as I watched over the cute kit.</p><p>“Yeah, they always find a way to melt your heart. Listen, Nick, I've been meaning to ask...why are you here?”</p><p>“Hmm? What do you mean?” I asked, unsure as to what he meant. He just stared at me with a look of sincerity before continuing.</p><p>“Nick please, I need to know, you found out about Nathan and Nicole, we've all moved on, so why are you here?” he questioned.</p><p>“Paul I…” He raised his paw to silence me.</p><p>“Nick, if it's the guilt of responsibility, you don't need to worry about it. I just want to know”</p><p>I tried thinking of something to tell him, but my thoughts quickly led me to other personal things. <em>‘Why am I here? what do I want?’</em> I thought about my life, from my kithood to hustling days...to now.</p><p>I had always wanted to be a part of something to show the world that Foxes could be reliable and trustworthy since kithood it was the Junior Ranger Scouts, but that quickly shattered after they showed their true colours.</p><p>If I couldn’t be anything but shifty and untrustworthy, I might as well be part of something big. So I decided to try for a family, I tried so hard to just make it work with Nicole, to love her, care for her, to provide for her and raise some kits of our own, but I ruined it.</p><p>It wasn’t until I met Judy that my dream was accomplished, being a cop and solving cases with her, being a part of Zootopia, something big, I was a fox that could be trusted.</p><p>But it didn’t occur to me until it happened, <em>‘I was a cop, and I was reliable and trustworthy...but why? Who would I show it to? Who could I share it with?’</em></p><p>I looked at the still sleeping kit, he was someone who looks up to me, someone who needs me, I couldn't let him down. I guess, in the end, I just wanted a family of my own, someone to protect, someone to share the wonders and joys of life, someone to love and to love me back.</p><p>I realized that it had been a long time since I felt protective or caring about someone, I cared about Judy, and the goddess knows that I would do anything to protect her. But it wasn’t the same as the feelings I held for my lost mate, feelings of desire...of intimacy...of something the heart and soul yearned for.</p><p>Judy asked me earlier if I still loved Nicole, and I think I found the answer.</p><p>“Paul, I just want to mend my relationship with Nicole, I want to be a part of her and my kit's life, I just want to be there for them” I revealed truthfully.</p><p>He spent a while thinking, contemplating my words “Alright Nick, I'll trust you on that, but if I ever catch you with someone else...”</p><p>"You won't trust me" I assured him.</p><p>"Nick Wilde" I heard someone beckon</p><p>"Our order must be up" I stated, looking at the cashier staring at our direction.</p><p>"Don't worry, I'll get it" offered Paul.</p><p>As he left to fetch our order, I looked at my son, sleeping on the couch right next to me. He began to stir and mumble in his sleep “Dad... don't go”</p><p>“Don't worry bud, I'm not going anywhere” I whispered, as I gently caressed his head.</p><p>Paul came back with two cups of coffee, and two muffins on a tray "Need any help?" I asked.</p><p>“No, it's fine” he replied, setting the orders on the table in front of us. “Hey Nick, watch this” he whispered, grabbing a blueberry muffin, he began wavering it in front of Nathan's nose.</p><p>His nose began twitching slowly, as his eyes opened, the adorable kit got up and did a little stretch, yawning as he did “I smell food” he yawned.</p><p><em>‘Heh, that's cute’</em> I thought to myself.</p><p>“Finally awake sleepyhead?” I asked.</p><p>“Where are we?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.</p><p>“We're at the Café bud” I answered, as I patted his head.</p><p>“What's that delicious smell?” he asked, sniffing the air.</p><p>“It's your favourite, blueberry muffins” answered Paul.</p><p>Nathan's face changed from being tired to being excited the instant he heard those words, with two paws he grabbed one of the muffins sitting on the table and began to bite down on the little treat.</p><p><em>‘Blueberries, no denying it, he's mine alright’</em> I thought to myself, as I watched him enjoy his snack.</p><p>We were enjoying this calm peaceful moment until Paul's phone began ringing, I saw how troubled he looked again, he looked quite reluctant to answer the call, but he did so anyway.</p><p>“Hello? yes, it’s me, I.., no she’s not...really? Oh thank you, thank you so much” he blurted as the call ended, he turned towards me with a look of relief on his face.</p><p>“Listen, Nick, I need to go and fill out some papers, can you watch after Nathan for a bit?” he asked.</p><p>“What? Me? Look after...”</p><p>“Yes, yes” he interrupted “come on Nick, it's really important; it'll only be for a moment” he pleaded as he put on his coat.</p><p>“Why can't you take him with you?” I asked, unsure if I was ready for this heavy responsibility.</p><p>“It’s not the place a seven-year-old would go, boring office, not much fun for him, it'll only take a minute, I won't be long!” he shouted as he ran out the Café.</p><p><em>‘He didn't even drink his coffee’</em> I thought to myself, as I stared at his untouched steaming cup of Joe.</p><p>I looked down at my son, he looked up at me, still chewing on the muffin, staring at me with a look of curiosity “Dad” he asked.</p><p>“Yes bud” I replied, giving him a welcoming smile.</p><p>“Can I ask you a question?” he asked.</p><p>“You already have” I joked, chuckling to myself, much to his annoyance. I coughed to recollect myself "Sure, ask away" I replied again, this time wondering what he would ask about.</p><p>“Did it hurt?” he asked.</p><p>“Did what hurt?” I asked back, unsure what he was asking about.</p><p>“When mom scratched you, did it hurt?” he asked again.</p><p>“Oh Yes, yes it did, but daddy’s fine now” I assured Nathan, giving him a big smile.</p><p>“Okay,” he replied, still munching down the muffin.</p><p>I took a sip of coffee, tasting the bitter taste <em>‘Forgot to put the sugar in’</em> I placed down the cup, and grabbed the other muffin on the table; as I began to munch down.</p><p>“Dad...” he asked.</p><p>“Yes bud” I replied again, biting down on a muffin, tasting the mixture of blueberries and muffin dough.</p><p>“Can I ask you another question?”</p><p>“Sure” I replied, with a mouth filled with a muffin.</p><p>“How come, you never come home?” he asked. I was afraid he might do this, ask me something that I couldn't answer him.</p><p>“Well...what does your mother say?” I asked.</p><p>“Mom says that it's because you're always busy, but I think she's lying” he revealed, he sounded so disappointed.</p><p>“Well Nathan, police work is a really, really busy job, it takes almost all of my time just to do anything” I lied.</p><p>“Then where do you sleep?” he inquired, tilting his head sideways, with more curiosity than disappointed in his voice.</p><p>“I sleep in my office” I explained, which was sort of the truth, as I recalled the late work nights spent sleeping in one of my desk drawers.</p><p>“You have an office?” he questioned.</p><p>“Well, not really, it's just a cubicle” I revealed.</p><p>“Wow, a cubicle” he replied, as his gaze turned to the window.</p><p>As I looked at Nathan, I thought back to when I was around his age, I felt that it was my responsibility to make sure that no one hurt him in any way. “Nathan” I began.</p><p>“Hmmm?” he mumbled in reply.</p><p>“Do...do you get bullied in school?” I asked, concerned if anyone would hurt him just because of his species.</p><p>“Well… I used to in my old school, they used to pick on me just because I was a fox” he replied in a saddened tone. I felt my blood starting to boil with anger, I was mad at the fact anyone would hurt him just because he was a fox, just like I was. I gave Nathan a big tight hug, pulling him in, wrapping my arms and tail around him.</p><p>“Nathan, if anyone ever bullies you again, you tell me, okay?” I added.</p><p>“Okay Dad”</p><p>I let Nathan go from the hug, I realized how in reality, he was just like me, but he was still quite innocent in this harsh world of ours.</p><p>“Hey, how about we go for some milkshakes later?” I suggested.</p><p>“With blueberries?” he asked in excitement, wagging his little bushy red tail.</p><p>“Yep” I replied, smiling at his excitement over blueberries.</p><p>Suddenly Nathan let out a gasp, as he pulled himself closer towards me, lowering his ears in fear, with his tail curled up as he hid behind me.</p><p>“What's wrong bud?” I asked concern about his sudden behaviour change.</p><p>“It's that scary rabbit from the other day” he revealed.</p><p>“Who?” I asked, wanting to know who made him so scared.</p><p>“Her” he whispered, as he pointed towards the entrance of the café. I stared at what his paw was pointing at; the culprit was none other than Judy.</p><p>“Nathan, you don't need to worry about Judy, she's harmless” I tried to assure him, but he didn't seem very convinced, I let out a sigh “I'll show you”</p><p>“Hey Carrots, over here” I beckoned to her, waving my arm in the air.</p><p>“Dad don't” he whimpered, as he hid behind me, tucking his tail in even tighter.</p><p>“Oh hey Slick, what are you doing here?” she asked.</p><p>“Oh you know carrots, just here for the coffee” I replied.</p><p>“You and your coffee, would it kill you to drink something without caffeine? Anyway, what do you have there?” she asked Judy, gesturing towards a still hiding Nathan.</p><p>“Judy, I'd like you to meet my son, Nathan” I declared. “Say hi Nathan,” I told him as I tried to move out of the way.</p><p>“H-hello” he muttered, as he clung tightly to my back.</p><p>“Hey, you don't have to be afraid, I won't hurt you” she assured. Nathan was still reluctant in trusting her, as he still hid behind me, trying to hide from Judy.</p><p>“Don't worry about him, he's just a bit shy” I assured her, “anyway, what are you doing here fluff? In uniform too” I asked.</p><p>“Well Sick, I’m on an early lunch break, and unlike you, some of us love police work. But since my partner is <em>'busy' </em>I'm finishing up on some paperwork” she revealed.</p><p>“How about I make it up to you, we're going for milkshakes later, care to join us?” I offered.</p><p>“I'd love to, but I’ve got to get that report on the last bust we did, written up for the chief” stated Judy.</p><p>“Come on Fluff, I'm sure the chief won't mind,” I told her, after some consideration she replied.</p><p>“How about this, give me thirty minutes, and then I'll meet you two there later” she suggested.</p><p>“Sounds like a plan” I replied.</p><p>“Right then, see you guys then” she declared, leaving the café.</p><p>I waved Judy a goodbye, as I felt Nathan come out from hiding behind me.</p><p>“See, Judy's nice isn't she?” I asked him.</p><p>“I guess so” he replied in reluctance.</p><p>I let out a sigh, it might take a bit more work for Judy to win him over “Come on, let's go get some milkshakes”</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Savanna Central Zootopia The Mockingbird Restaurant: Nicole's Point of view</strong>
</p><p><em>"I'm sorry, we're looking for someone more qualified"</em> I don't know how many times I've heard those words today, then again who could blame them. I'm an arctic fox with not many qualifications and barely a college degree, who would hire me? The Mockingbird Restaurant is the last place on my list of hiring; the interview with the manager, an elderly black bear had ended. I learnt not to get my hopes up as I waited to hear those crushing words again <em>"I'm sorry, we're looking for someone else"</em></p><p>I waited outside the manager's office, thinking about my chances of getting this job; I got out my phone and began browsing through my gallery. I stopped at a very personal and special photo, it was a photo my brother took of my kit when he was just a newborn, and there he was, wrapped up in his little blanket, covered in dark brown fluffy fur.</p><p>“Aww, that's adorable” I heard someone whisper.</p><p>I jumped at the sudden voice of the stranger, I looked at just who was peering over my shoulder, and it was a female Otter.</p><p>“I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I was just curious” she blurted out in defence.</p><p>“It's alright; It's alright, no harm done” I replied, trying to calm her down.</p><p>“Really? Because I can take a hint” she questioned.</p><p>“No, really it's fine” I assured the Otter.</p><p>“Oh thank God, because the last time this happened, let's just say it didn't end well...” she revealed.</p><p>“Uh-huh,” I mumbled in reply.</p><p>“Nicole White?” I heard someone beckon.</p><p>I turned towards the source of the voice, it was the manager “Your résumé looks appealing enough, there's a shift here tonight, we'll see how you handle, and if you work well, you're hired” he announced.</p><p>“Thank you so much for giving me a chance” I replied, glad that I was given at least a chance to prove myself.</p><p>“Don't worry about it” he assured, the manager then stared at the Otter. “Oh Isabel, I'll leave Nicole under your charge, make sure she's ready for tonight” he ordered.</p><p>As the manager returned to his office, the Otter walked up next to me “I guess we're going to be co-workers now eh?” she stated.</p><p>“Yep”</p><p>“I'm Isabelle by the way, Isabelle Riverton” she revealed.</p><p>“I'm Nicole, Nicole White” I answered back.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Savanna Central Zootopia Robert's Frosted Glass: Nick's Point of View</strong>
</p><p>As Nathan and I sat next to the frosted up window, I thought about all the memories I had about this place, though we were poor, I remembered how Dad used to bring me here occasionally. It wasn't much, but to eight years old me, it was the best thing in the world.</p><p>Seeing Nathan there happily slurping down his milkshake through the straw, made me realized why Dad brought me here, it was so he could make his son happy, to make it a father and son thing, I remembered how this special moment was only shared between me and Dad.</p><p>As I looked at my kit enjoying himself, it made me feel the urge to show my Dad that just like him, I have someone to share my father-son moments.</p><p>“You like the milkshakes?” I asked Nathan</p><p>“I love them, they taste like sweet sugar clouds” he declared, giggling as he tried to drink without the straw, only to get some cream on his nose.</p><p>I grabbed a tissue, provided by the table, and begun to wipe his nose. “Achoo!” he sneezed.</p><p>“You know bud, my Dad used to bring me here when I was little,” I told him, as I disposed of the tissue.</p><p>“Did you enjoy it?” he asked, looking up at me with those shimmering blue eyes of his.</p><p>“I loved it, it was the best thing in the world” I revealed.</p><p>“Grandpa Sounds amazing, I wish I can meet him”</p><p>“Ah, well...” I mumbled as I thought of how to introduce Nathan to Dad, and Mom as well. They'll love him, I'm sure of it, but then they'll want to know about Nicole, and oh boy, I do not want to be there when that happens. <em>‘If they find out that I unintentionally ran out on her, I’m as good as dead’</em></p><p>“I asked Mom about grandpa once, she just said that he went somewhere far away” stated Nathan “don't tell Mom, but I don't think he's coming back” he whispered.</p><p>“Well Bud, one day, I'll take you to meet my Mom and Dad, okay?” I promised I couldn't keep him away from Mom and Dad forever; sooner or later he’d have to meet them eventually.</p><p>“Okay, it's a deal,” he said, holding out his paw for me to shake, I only smiled at my son as I shook his tiny paw.</p><p>As Nathan returned to drinking his milkshake, I noticed a familiar giant black blur coming to a halt in front of the frosted window. A grey figure in the shape of a rabbit emerged from the black blob, and made its way towards the entrance, making its way towards us.</p><p>“Hey, Nick” bellowed Judy.</p><p>“Hey Carrots” I replied. Judy sat next to Nathan, much to his discomfort. The milkshakes seemed to have softened him up, as he was curious with Judy, but he still kept his distance.</p><p>Judy looked at him in awe “Look at you, you're just the most adorable thing ever” she stated.</p><p>“Since you're here,” I started “want me to buy you something?” I offered.</p><p>“Sure, Nick, I won't be here long though” she replied.</p><p>“Well, any request?” I asked.</p><p>“Just a Vanilla ice cream, thanks” she replied. I got up and headed towards the counter.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Judy's Point of View</strong>
</p><p>As I waited for Nick, I looked around, studying the place, it'd looked just like something from the nineteen forty's. Looking around, I noticed that Nick’s son was looking at me curiously.</p><p>“What's it like being a cop,” he asked.</p><p>“Well it's fun, but serious work” I replied, giving him a warm smile.</p><p>“Is it hard?” he asked again.</p><p>“Well, it was in the beginning, but I got used to it” I answered.</p><p>“Okay,” he replied.</p><p>A moment of silence passed between us, silence, boring silence, I couldn't stand it, the silence between us quickly got on my nerves. I tried to make some conversation with the kit.</p><p>“So what do you know about Nick?” I asked, wondering how much does he know about the father that never was there.</p><p>“Well... not that much, but I do know that he's the best dad ever!” he bragged, a nice wide smile on his face.</p><p><em>‘Heh, everyone always thinks their parents are the best at a young age’</em> I thought to myself. I began to think about my parents, and how they were doing with all my younger siblings and a few grandkits to look after. My thoughts were interrupted by the fox kit, who says the one thing almost every kit or cub says.</p><p>“I need to go to the bathroom” he uttered.</p><p>“Oh, I'm sure there's one here” I replied, I turned to ask the elderly Mountain goat seated behind me “Excuse me, do you know where's the bathroom?” I asked politely.</p><p>“Sure, it's just over there, to the right” pointed the goat.</p><p>“Thanks” I replied, as he returned to gazing at the newspaper.</p><p>I turned back to Nathan “Come on, follow me” I beckoned; as I led him towards the bathrooms, “are you going to be alright in there by yourself?” I asked him, as we stood outside the bathrooms.</p><p>“I'll be fine, I’m seven after all” he replied with a smirk as he went inside. As I waited outside, I noticed Nick walking towards me.</p><p>“Where's Nathan?” he asked.</p><p>“He's in the bathroom” I replied.</p><p>“Heh, kits, anyway, here's your ice cream” he declared, handing me my vanilla ice cream on a cone, suddenly an idea sprung to mind, one that has been in the works for weeks.</p><p>“Thanks, Nick, listen...it's been what? One year since we solved the original Night Howler case, so I've been thinking...” I started ‘<em>now's the moment Judy, ask him, ask him out now’ </em>I thought “maybe we should celebrate with dinner? Tonight?” I asked.</p><p>“Oh sure Carrots, dinner sounds great” he replied with his signature smile.</p><p><em>‘Oh my gosh, he said yes, woohoo Judy! Yes! Okay, well it's not technically a date, but it's still something’</em> I thought.</p><p>“Great Nick, I'll see you there” I added, as I walked out the door, tasting the ever so sweet ice cream.</p><p>“See you later fluff!” he shouted.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Nick's Point of View</strong>
</p><p><em>‘Dinner with Carrots, I hope the food there's nice’</em> I thought to myself<em>. ‘Hmm, Nathan seems to be in there for quite a while, I should go check on him’</em></p><p>“Nathan, are you alright in there?” I asked, wondering what took him so long.</p><p>“I'm fine Dad, just some tummy aches” he replied.</p><p>“Alright, don't take too long” I replied.</p><p>Feeling reassured, I felt my phone buzzing, I checked just to see who was messaging me</p><p>
  <em>'Hey Nick, I realized that I forgot to tell you where we're having dinner, silly me. It's a new place called the Mocking Bird Restaurant, oh and wear something nice.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>-Judy</em>
</p><p><em>‘Wear something nice, looks like Pawaiian shirts are a no go, I'm sure I can scrounge up something nice to wear’</em> I thought to myself. Suddenly my phone started buzzing again; I checked who was messaging me, only to find that it was from Paul.</p><p>
  <em>'Where are you guys!? I left you with Nathan for one minute and you guys disappear! Reply now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>-Paul</em>
</p><p><em>‘Oh boy,’</em> I thought to myself.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Dinner surprises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Narration</strong>
</p><p>Another typical day has passed in our little story, for most mammals of the city; this was just a typical run-of-the-mill Friday night. However, for a certain rabbit, this was a special night.</p><p>
  <strong>Downtown Zootopia: Nick's Point of view</strong>
</p><p>I stood by the pavement outside my apartment, waiting for the taxi to arrive. Unlike regular Fridays where I would be at home relaxing or hanging around Finnick, I was instead going to a dinner celebration with Judy, and at her request, I was dressed in a blue suit, complete with a red tie that I managed to find tucked away in the closet. I took a glance at my phone, hoping that I wasn’t going to be late, with all that had happened this past few days; a dinner with Judy would be a nice break from it all.<br/><br/>Taking a peek down the street, I noticed a rather old beat-up yellow taxi slowing to a halt, a smirk formed on my lips as I saw Frank. Frank was a fairly aged Jaguar who has been a cabbie for many years; even before I was born. He began to furiously roll down the window, all the while cursing to himself for not buying a car with an automatic window.</p><p>Poking he head out the car window, Frank began staring at me, eyeing me up and down, I was starting to feel uncomfortable until he spoke.<br/>“Well, would you look at that, young Nick all dressed like a smart fox for once” stated Frank as he chuckled to himself.</p><p>“Nice to see you too Frankie” I replied, hopping into his old cab, as Frank returned to the action of rolling up the window.<br/><br/>"So, where'll it be Nick? It better not be the Sahara, I can’t stand the heat there" he stated, glancing at me through the rear mirror.</p><p>"The Mockingbird Restaurant, you know the place?" I asked.</p><p>"Of course I know it, newly opened restaurant, right where Abigail’s bughouse used to be” He replied, giving off a small sigh “Shame about Abigail’s place, they had such nice coffee… Anyway, fancy place yer heading to, having a special occasion with a girl?" he asked, as the car began to lurch forward, picking up in speed.</p><p>"Eh, no, it's with Judy, did I tell you about her?” I asked as I buckled myself in with a seatbelt.</p><p>“Yeah, yer rabbit partner, right? ain't there that rule about fraternization with co-workers?” he questioned, trying his best to appear interested while concentrating on the road.</p><p>I chuckled to myself as I recalled Frankie’s cabbie method, trying to appear as a friend than a taxi driver to try to squeeze you dry for tips. “Surprisingly, they got rid of that rule last year, besides its just dinner with Judy, nothing special” I corrected, not wanting Frankie to get any ideas and spread rumours.</p><p>"Heh, heard that one before" he replied, his eyes occasionally glancing back at me. His ears perked their way towards me, seemingly to tell me that I had his attention.</p><p>"Oh? Care to explain?" I asked, interested in where he was going with this.</p><p>"Well, this company I used to work for, had a guy...I think he was one of those Springboks, anyway, he got a bit too 'friendly' with the office secretary. First, it was just dinner, then stay-overs, followed by a friendly kiss, next thing ya know they're in a relationship" he explained, turning his head towards me before returning his focus to the road.</p><p>"Hold on...you're not suggesting that Judy's trying to-“ I didn’t get to finish my sentence as the car suddenly screeches to a halt, all the while Frankie was shouting various obscenities.</p><p>"Jeezus! Fucking idiotic, damn pieces of..." continued Frank, all while furiously rolling down the window.</p><p>“Get off the road ya idiot!" he shouted, all while slamming his paw onto his wheel, beeping the taxi’s rather loud horn. I recollected myself from the sudden stoppage, shifting my body and tail back into a comfortable position. I glanced forwards to see what had caused us to stop. A drunken Elk just stood in the middle of the road with a bottle in his hooves; he was just staring at us as if caught in some trance.</p><p>Frank began to mumble to himself as he flicked a switch, turning off the car’s headlights. I watched as the Elk began to stumble away.</p><p>"That's the fifth time this week” he exclaimed, flicking the headlights back on “I’m lucky I didn't hit any of the bastards. I'm sorry Nick, you were saying?" he asked, rolling up the window as we continued our journey.</p><p>"It's nothing, never mind" I replied, burying the thought deep in my mind.</p><p>"Anyway, so I'm going to guess that yer friend Judy, is the one that picked the location?” he asked, returning to his usual demeanour.</p><p>“How'd you guess?” I asked, curious as to his reasoning.</p><p>“Call it an intuition, but if you must know, I heard on the grapevine that it’s a pretty pricey place for couples” he explained, giving off a little smile as he did so.</p><p>Taking in what Frank said, I tried to think of a good non-date reason why Judy chose to celebrate at a restaurant, instead of a bar or club. But instead, I drew blanks <em>‘Judy of all places you picked, it had to be a fancy restaurant...what are you planning?’</em>I mumbled to myself, as I rested my face in my paws, my ears laid flat in frustration.</p><p>“Anyway, money shouldn't be a problem for ol' nick, can't say the same for officer nick though”</p><p>“You just worry about driving, Frankie”</p><p>"Suit yourself; I’m not the one committing cash-a-cide. Well anyway we're here"</p><p>I gathered myself within that small time, putting aside any negatives thoughts I had about this whole situation. Letting out a sigh, I put on a smile "Thanks Frank, how much do I owe you?" I asked, pulling out my wallet.</p><p>“Twenty for the ride, and seven for the sage advice” he replied, glancing at me through the rear mirror. Although appearing to not care too much through his gestures, Frank’s eyes, however, were eager for the sight of green.<br/><br/>“Here’s ten for a tip Frankie” I revealed, giving Frankie his cash. I unbuckled my seatbelt, opening the door and hopped out, but as I slammed the door shut, Frank was off. The sound of screeching rubber can be heard from afar.</p><p><em>‘Seems like old age hasn’t caught up to Frank yet’ </em>I thought to myself. Taking my attention away from the street, I noticed Judy standing by the entrance, dressed in a lovely pink dress. It certainly was my first time seeing her in something more feminine, and I couldn’t describe just how beautiful she looked.</p><p> Shaking myself out of this little surprise, I fixed up my tie and suit, mentally preparing myself for tonight <em>‘Alright sly Nick, it’s showtime’</em></p><p>Walking up to her, I whistled “Well well well Fluff, never thought I’d see you in a dress”</p><p>“And you in something, not a Pawaiian shirt” returned Judy.</p><p>“You look beautiful by the way Carrots, enough to make any girl jealous”</p><p>She looked away in embarrassment before replying “And you Nick, you look-“</p><p>“Extraordinary handsome? Dashingly roguish?” I asked, placing a paw on my chest as I flaunted my good looks</p><p>She gave off a giggle “Well I was going to say smart, but I’ll go with both”</p><p>“Why thank you Carrots, I’m glad someone appreciates my beauty, shall we?” I asked Judy, holding out my arm for her</p><p>“Lead the way Slick” she replied, giving off a chuckle.</p><p>Walking ahead to the entrance, we were greeted by a Brown Pine marten with white streaks on his muzzle, he seemed to look at us with great interest “Good evening Sir and madam. Do you have a reservation?”  he asked, flipping open a black book of some sort.</p><p>“Yes, it’s under Judith Laverne Hopps”</p><p>The Pine Marten’s eyes spark with interest as he flipped through the book “ahhhh Miss Hopps, table twenty-two, right this way please.” He replied.</p><p>Stepping inside and following the Pine Marten, I was instantly greeted with a puff of warm air and bright lights, the insides of the establishment was brightly lit but not invasively so, rather with a tinge of a warm golden glow. The smell of various dishes and the murmurs of the patrons brought out a feeling of comfort.</p><p> Leading Judy with my arm, we followed the Pine Marten, until we reached a set of table and chairs; he began pulling out the chairs, motioning us to take a sit down as he seated us.</p><p>“Your server should be with you shortly” he politely told us, as he hurried back to the front.</p><p>I turned my gaze back as Judy, smiling at her “well Fluff, let’s see what’s on the menus”</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Savanna Central. Zootopia. The Mockingbird Restaurant: Nicole’s Point of View</strong>
</p><p><em>‘Remember to smile, remember to smile’ </em>I thought to myself, although the customers here were far better mannered than what I had to deal with in seedy bars and clubs, it doesn’t change how tiring this is.</p><p>I was always taking orders, serving, and cleaning a table, it never seemed to end, the mammals kept pouring in. It also didn’t help that the constant murmurs of the servers and customers were enough to give you a headache if you weren’t used to it, luckily this was a breeze for me when compared to the loud obnoxious clubbing music. <em>‘I’d take classy establishments over casual clubs anytime’</em></p><p>Making my way into the kitchen I grabbed two plates of what smelt like shrimp and fish, taking note of the table number, I made my way to number twenty-five, a male wolf couple was seated talking to each other seemingly with a smile on their muzzles.</p><p>Ignoring what they were saying to each other, I proceeded to serve them their plates, with a smile and a <em>‘thank you’</em> they returned their attention to each other. As I left them, I surveyed my surroundings, searching if there was anyone needing service, I spotted a Rabbit and a Fox waiting at table twenty-two with menus in their faces, I made my way towards the pair, pulling out my provided notepad.</p><p>Not taking any notice of who they were, I just focused on what their orders could be, as I reached their table, I noticed a very familiar scent, but quickly brushed it aside, putting on another smile I spoke “Good evening, I shall be your waitress for this evening”</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Nick’s Point of View</strong>
</p><p><em>‘That voice sounds familiar’</em> I thought to myself <em>‘too familiar...’</em> I placed my menu down; taking a look at our waitress, my mouth dropped open in surprise, it was her, Nicole.</p><p>I was at a loss for words, <em>‘what was she doing here? Did she plan this? Why is she working here?</em>’ All these thoughts rushed to my head, too shocked I could only utter her name.</p><p>“N-Nicole...”</p><p>She stared at me and then at Judy before letting out a sigh “Can it Nick, for tonight, I am your waitress, not your ex. Now what can I get for you and your bunny girlfriend?” she replied, readying her pen and notepad.</p><p>“I...she’s not...”</p><p>Nicole’s gaze was enough to tell me how annoyed she was right now,  I quickly turned away glancing at my menu, trying to pick anything it gets out of this awkward situation. It didn’t matter what I wanted anymore, my appetite for the night was gone.</p><p>Judy was the first to break the tension “I’ll have a Balsamic Carrot Salad” she answered, closing her menu and handing it to Nicole.</p><h3>“I...I’ll have a Roasted Chicken with Asiago Polenta” I replied, handing my Menu in, like Judy.</h3><p>Taking our menus into her paws, she quickly jots down our orders “Anything to drink?” She asked, giving me a cold stare. In reply, I stared downwards and stared at my empty plate as I tucked my ears back, taken in by her show of invisible dominance.</p><p>“Nothi-”</p><p>“Red wine” interrupted Judy, I looked at her in confusion.</p><p><em>‘Judy’s not one to drink, why the behaviour change?’ </em>I thought. I took a peek at Nicole; she seemed annoyed at our conflicting demands, as her muzzle was twitching, occasionally showing the slightest glimpse of her front fangs.</p><p>“Red wine please” I conceded, knowing that after tonight, some wine would be the least of my worries.</p><p>She writes it down “Very well, I’ll be back with your meals shortly”</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Nicole Point of View</strong>
</p><p>I walked over to the kitchen, submitting their orders to the kitchen staff for processing <em>‘Of all the days Nick decided to have a night out, it had to be today’ </em>I shook the thought out of my mind, what mattered today was making a good impression on the boss, and getting home to Nathan.</p><p>I moved towards the bar for a bottle of wine, I spied the bartender, Sam waiting at the ready for any request. Sam, or Sammy as I’d like to call him, was a sweet and charming African hunting dog who nice enough to invite me to coffee earlier.</p><p>“Hey Sam, a bottle of red wine please,” I said.</p><p>“Again? That stuff goes fast, I’m going to have to grab some more from the back, come lend a hand will you?” he asked.</p><p>“Sure thing Sammy”</p><p>“I told you not to call me that” he replied, disappearing behind a door marked <em>‘Storage’ </em>I followed after him, down a set of stairs, into what I could presume to be the wine cellar.</p><p>“Here we are, Red wine” he proclaimed, pulling out a cardboard box and slicing open the tape with his claw.</p><p>As he opened the box, his expression suddenly shifted to one of shock “What in the...when I get my paws on whoever that keeps stealing wine, they’re going to have a bad day” he exclaimed, throwing the empty box aside as he began sniffing around for a scent.</p><p>As Sam vanished into boxes of cardboard in his hunt for wine, my phone buzzed, I knew it wasn’t right to be answering the phone while at work, but I needed a small break from everything happening. I looked over to see my brother was the caller.</p><p>Glancing around to see if Sam was coming back, I quickly answered the call.</p><p>“Oh hey sis, sorry about calling you”</p><p>“Paul, you know I’m working right now” I let out a sigh “what do you need?” I continued.</p><p>“Well...uhhh on your way home, could you pick up some medicine for Nathan? I think he’s coming down with something”</p><p>“WHAT?!” I shouted, as I quickly checked to see if Sam heard me. Once I was confident he wasn’t eavesdropping I replied “Is he okay?” I asked, concerned for my boy’s wellbeing.</p><p>“Yeah he’s fine; I think he just caught some sort of stomach flu...” revealed Paul.</p><p>I let out a sigh in both relief and frustration; I knew that my son was in pain right now and that he needed me there with him. Although I was still tied to my responsibilities of work, I couldn’t just stand leaving my kit in pain.</p><p>“Well...maybe a fever too?” he continued.</p><p>“I’m coming home right now” I replied, knowing that my kit caught something more serious than a tummy ache.</p><p>“What? Don’t do that I...”</p><p>I quickly ended the call, and shoved my phone back into my pocket, just in time as Sam returned with two cardboard boxes stacked upon another “Finally found it, someone hid it behind a box of White wine” he revealed.</p><p>With a smile, I grabbed the top box, relieving him of some of the weight. When we returned to the bar, I placed the box down and spotted Isabelle the Otter from earlier, I waved her over.</p><p>“Oh hey Nicole, what’s up?” she asked</p><p>“Hey, Isa, can you cover for me? Something serious came up” I revealed, hoping that she would understand the urgency of the situation.</p><p>“Oh? What happened?”</p><p>“My son isn’t feeling so well, so I’ve got to head home” I answered, knowing that this was a terrible excuse to skip work early, but I hoped that she would be understanding.</p><p>“Oh dear that’s terrible, poor thing, don’t worry I’ll explain everything to the boss, go on, get out of here” She revealed with a smile.</p><p>“Thank you so much, next time you need to go, I’ll cover for you” I replied, giving her a tight hug in appreciation.</p><p>Letting her go, I opened the box I brought earlier, and took out a bottle of red wine “Here, for table twenty-two, their orders should be in the kitchen...” I explained.</p><p>“Yeah yeah, now get out of here den mother” she replied, laughing as she headed over to Nick’s table.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Nick’s Point of View</strong>
</p><p>I sat there with Judy as she tried to make small talk, asking me about my day, about work, I wasn’t paying too much attention, I was waiting and looking to see when Nicole would come back, I just couldn’t keep her out of my mind.</p><p>Among all the mammals dressed as waiters and waitresses, I seemed to have lost sight of the white arctic fox; my heart was hammering away at my chest, yearning to see her again.</p><p>My attention was quickly drawn away from the group of mammals, as I heard someone approaching our table, turning around to face them; I was surprised to find an Otter instead of Nicole, with a bottle and glasses in paw.</p><p>“Good evening, I’m your new server for the evening” she introduced herself.</p><p>“Excuse me? What happened to Nicole? The Arctic fox?” I asked, wanting to know why the sudden change and her disappearance.</p><p>“Oh she had to leave” she answered.</p><p>Upon hearing those words, I jumped up from my seat and ran over to the where I last saw Nicole. Searching for the back entrance for employees, I spotted a <em>‘Staff only’ </em>door, upon exiting I saw her still dressed in her waitress uniform, walking through the restaurant’s employee’s car park.</p><p>I ran up in front of her, blocking her path. “Nick what are you doing here?” she asked, tilting her head in confusion.</p><p>Catching my breath through some panting, I tried to speak what I’ve been meaning to say for years, I placed a paw on her shoulder “Nicole, I-”</p><p>“Get out of my way” She interrupted, shrugging me off as she walked past me.</p><p>“Wait” I shouted, getting her attention as she stopped in her tracks, but still facing away. “I’m sorry...for everything” I continued.</p><p>I waited for her response, she just stood there unmoving before finally turning around and speaking “I’m sorry too, Nick”<br/><br/>I was confused, what was she sorry for? What did she do wrong? I am the one that’s supposed to be apologising.</p><p>“I’m...sorry for hurting you...and I’m sorry for hiding him from you. If you haven’t figured it out yet, that kit you saw at the station...he’s ours...” she said, her eyes starting to fill with tears, and her ears laid flat with a limp tail.</p><p>“Nikki...” I began, only to have her hold up her paw to tell me to wait, as she wiped her tears away.</p><p>“Nick listen...I’m...happy without you, my...our son is happy without you, I don’t need you, he doesn’t need you, we don’t need you, Nick. It’s okay for you to...leave, you don’t have to take responsibility, I can manage on my own.” She continued, putting on a forced smile.</p><p>“But I don’t want to leave... I want to be here with you, with...our kit” I told her, tears starting to form in my eyes, clouding my vision.</p><p>She looked at me quizzically, before giving me a genuine smile. “That’s sweet of you Nicholas; you reminded me why I fell for you...but...It’s over between us, I’m not the same vixen that you claim to love. Just like you, I have changed, I just don’t see us together again...I’m sorry Nick” she sighed.</p><p>And with that she walked away, fading into the night of the city, as I knelt and wept.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Judy’s Point of View</strong>
</p><p>“This night just can't get any worse” I mumbled to myself. Nick had left me to go chase that white-tailed vixen, leaving me to eat my meal alone</p><p>“Your Bill madam” stated the Otter waitress, leaving behind a black bill folder. I slammed my head onto the table in frustration, as I was going to have to pay for a Nick-less dinner and an uneaten meal.</p><p>Then, a familiar voice caught my attention. “Judy? I did not expect to find you here”</p><p>I lifted my head from the table, only to see a polar bear holding an arctic shrew in his paws “Mr Big? What are you doing here?” I asked, my nose twitching in curiosity.</p><p>“Business my dear child, business,” he stated, pausing to inspect my current state “Koslov” he signalled to the bear, as he is placed gently onto the table, “Tell Mr Johnson, that I will be…occupied” The Polar bear which I now recognised as Koslov, began to walk away with a pair of polar bears following him, leaving myself and Mr Big alone.<br/><br/></p><p>The old shrew walked towards me, taking care not to trip on the mess on the table “Now, my dear Judy, what is troubling you?” he asked.</p><p>“It’s nothing…” I replied, but before I could explain how nothing it was, he interrupted me.</p><p>“Nonsense my child, I can tell that something is wrong” he stops and sniffs the air, his little nose twitching to some scent.</p><p>Mr Big then stared at the bottle on the table, the bottle of red wine that I had ordered for Nick and myself “<strong>Madonna Santa! T</strong>he godmother of my grandchild should not be drinking this rubbish!” exclaimed the Shrew.</p><p>He then snapped fingers, all while beckoning to a nearby Leopard, which I hadn’t noticed “Waiter, a bottle of Tenuta dell'ornellaia”</p><p>I sat and watched as the waiter left in a hurried pace, before coming back with a bottle and glass in one paw, with his other paw holding a tray, which held a mouse waiter and a tiny chair and table.</p><p>The leopard sets down his co-worker on the table as they both began to open and pour the contents of the bottle into a wine glass.</p><p>“Thank you” I spoke to the leopard. After he is done, I turned back to Mr Big, only to see the mouse setting out a table and chair and wine glass for him.</p><p>The old shrew takes a seat, sipping the glass “Now my child, tell me what troubles you”</p><p>“Well...” I began, eyeing at the glass in my paw, the smell was sweet yet heavy in strength. Although I knew that it wouldn’t be a good idea to drink something so strong, I knew that to not do so would be disrespectful to a mob boss. <em>‘I supposed a little sip couldn’t hurt?’ </em>I thought.</p><p>
  <strong>A LITTLE WHILE LATER</strong>
</p><p>“AND THEN HE JUST LEAVES ME HERE FOR THAT DIRTY CITY MATTRESS VIXEN!” I yelled, throwing my paws up in the air in frustration. “I JUST WISH SHE JUST DISAPPEARED” I continued, pouring myself another glass of wine.</p><p>Mr Big appeared to be unmoved at my behaviour; instead, he seemed to listen with great interest. “Tell me more about this white vixen”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Motherly advice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Savanna Central. Zootopia. Savanna Park Nick’s Point of View</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>‘I have changed, I just don’t see us together again...I’m sorry Nick’</em>
</p><p>Those words echoed in my mind, those heart retching words. I had no one to blame but myself, how could I think that she would let me back in her life after all I had left her with. She must have gone through a lot through our seven years apart; raising a kit can’t be easy.</p><p>As I walked around wondering how much I’ve let her down, my stomach began to emit a low growl demanding for food. I let out a sigh as I realised how I left Judy hanging again and abandoned another meal. <em>‘I really need to stop doing this’</em></p><p>As another pang of hunger hit me, a tantalising smell entered my nostril, the scent of slightly burnt bug meat and onions lingered around the park. I focused my attention towards the direction where the smell seemed strongest, the aroma of bug meat sent multiple hunger cries from my stomach, as well as making myself drool in anticipation.</p><p><em>‘That smells good’</em> I pulled out my wallet to check if I had enough loose change for a light snack, after all, I didn’t want to pull out the fifties I planned for dinner with Judy. Pulling out my wallet, I noticed something falling out of my pocket, I picked it up and examined the mysterious paper and froze at the sight. The paper, it was a picture, our picture, I let out a sigh as I pocketed the picture again, it was not the time to dwell on past mistakes.</p><p>Pulling out some loose change, I approached the Hot Bug vendor; a spotted Hyena with a rather patchy coat.</p><p>Upon seeing my approach, he seemed to tuck away some metal box. The notion irritated me, knowing that there was some feeling of distrust from the Hyena.</p><p>“Hey hey hey, I don’t need you forming another crowd of hungry foxes, buy something or leave no loitering” he demanded, giving off an almost silent growl in warning.</p><p><em>‘The attitude of this guy’</em> I thought to myself, irritated at this already speciest treatment I was receiving, by no means a new experience, it was still unpleasant all the same.</p><p>“A Bug Dog and something to drink” I answered, not wanting to make any more conversation with this Hyena.</p><p>“Alright, but I’m watching you” he spat out; giving me the harshest glare I’ve ever seen a Hyena give me.</p><p>
  <em>‘Something tells me that he isn’t the type that laughs’</em>
</p><p>I handed him the money and took my meal from his paws, sitting on a park bench, I quietly enjoyed my meal of a bug dog and cub soda.</p><p>From a night at a five-class restaurant to a two-dollar hot bug at a park, life sure does throw very unexpected curveballs.</p><p><em>‘It’s not the best hot bug, but a nice meal at the moment’s notice’ </em>As I sat there licking my fingers, the thought of the photo came back, I just had to look at it, to take it in.</p><p>I took it out and let the moonlight shine on it, I ran my paw over Nicole’s muzzle, she was smiling, happy, her eyes brimming with fulfilment. Going over it, she really has changed, her eyes are now shadowed with dark rings, her fur was not as thick as I remembered, her posture was stiff instead of relaxed, and I couldn’t help but think that I did this to her, I ruined her life, I had no right to ask for a second chance. My eyes started to fill with tears, as I gripped the picture in my paw “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry”</p><p>Suddenly a voice called to me “Nicholas is that you?” upon hearing the voice, I quickly wiped my eyes dry, stuffed the picture into my pockets, and put on a smile</p><p>“Mom? Dad? What are you two doing here?” I asked, wondering why they were out at such a late hour.</p><p>“Oh we were just having dinner, and we decided to take a walk, are you okay? Were you crying?” she asked concern visible on her brow.</p><p>“No, it was just...allergies, I’m fine mom” I lied, putting on the biggest smile I could muster.</p><p>“Well if you say so Nicholas” she replied, showing off her charming smile, which to most mammals would seem like nothing, but I knew better.</p><p><em>‘If I know mom, she’s already on to me’ </em>I thought to myself.</p><p>“Let’s not forget, it’s also our anniversary together” stated dad, as he grabbed mom’s hips and pulled her close, giving her a peck on the cheek</p><p>“John, not in front of Nicky” she giggled. I could only smile at their affection, and envy at the happiness that they had. Mom could only look at me curiously, tilting her head before speaking “John could you get my jacket from the car? It’s getting a bit cold” she asked.</p><p>“Yes dear, take care of your mother while I’m gone Nicholas,” he asked, kissing her on her paw.</p><p>“Johnnnn” she repeated, giggling to herself at his antics.</p><p>“I’m going I'm going” he replied, walking off with a spring in his step.</p><p>As dad strolled off into the distance, mom began to speak. “Your father, bless him, always the gentle -fox” she let out a sigh, as she sat next to me.</p><p>“Now then Nicholas, I know that look, don’t think you can hide it from me again, what’s wrong sweetie?” she asked, putting my paw in hers.</p><p>
  <em>‘Bingo, mom is suspicious’</em>
</p><p>“It’s nothing” I lied, brushing her paws off.</p><p>“Nicholas, don’t lie to me, I don’t want to lose you again. I decided to let you handle yourself before, and I regretted that moment every second of my life, so now I won’t make the same mistake twice.”</p><p>I let out a sigh as I gave in to what awaited me “Mom...I stuffed up big time” I answered, burying my muzzle into my paws. “I just don’t know what to do” I continued.</p><p>I closed my eyes and hoped for the worst, only to hear her ask “Well why don’t you tell me what you did?” she asked, giving me a sweet comforting smile.</p><p>“I...I can’t tell you” I replied, wrapping my tail around myself to try to find some protection from her <em>‘interrogation’</em>.</p><p>“Nicholas...” she began, letting out a loud sigh.</p><p>“Mom, I really can’t tell you, trust me” I lifted my head from my paws and stared at her, wishing she could understand how hard it was for me to tell her. <em>‘Besides, you and dad would have my tail if you found out’</em> I thought.</p><p>“That bad?” she asked concern on her muzzle, with her brow furrowed in worry.</p><p>I nodded my head, relieved that she knew to stop questioning me about it...about her.</p><p>She took a moment to herself in thought</p><p>“Nicholas dear I don’t know what to tell you, since I don’t know what’s wrong. So I’ll tell you what your father told me a long long time ago.</p><p>
  <strong>Flashback- 1980s Marian’s point of view</strong>
</p><p>“What is this Mary?” asked John, waving a pawful of rolled-up cash in his paw.</p><p>“Oh, just something I <em>‘borrowed’</em> from this pig” I explained, as I returned to reading She-Wolf weekly, there was an interesting article about tail fashion.</p><p>“Borrowed? You mean stole?” he stated, throwing the cash onto the table.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter, it’s mine now” I replied, closing my magazine and setting it aside, I knew where this conversation was going. I stared at my boyfriend and wondered why I had to fall for a fox with such an honest viewpoint on life.</p><p>“Mary, you need to stop doing this” he repeated, a tone of annoyance in his voice. I got up from the couch and placed my paws on my hip, this was the fifth time he wanted to talk about this, about my less than straight lifestyle.</p><p>“John, you tell me, what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to support myself?” I asked.</p><p>“I’ll...I’ll take care of you” he mumbled under his breath, he looked away in embarrassment as I stared at him, surprised at his words.</p><p>“You’ll take care of me? John you forget, you’re a fox, and how will you take care of me, when you can’t even take care of yourself?” I reminded him.</p><p>“I’ll...I’ll get another job, I’ll...”</p><p>I held his paws in mine to stop him from continuing, trying my best to comfort him “John, I know you mean well, but this well...it’s...this...this is what I know, it’s all I’m good at” I stated.</p><p>“Mary, please, think about it, about us” he begged, giving off an almost silent whine.</p><p>“What about us?” I asked, tilting my head in confusion.</p><p>“What kind of a future can we have if you keep doing this? I...I don’t want you to go to prison”</p><p>“I won’t get caught, trust me,” I assured him, trying to lighten the mood by pinching his cheeks.</p><p>“Marian....” he sighed.</p><p>I joined him and let out a sigh “John, what future do we have? We’re foxes, the world doesn’t give us a future, it makes us do these things, it forces us to be what they think of us”</p><p>“That’s not true Marian, we have a choice, you have a choice, please, do it for me” He begged, enclosing me into a tight hug.</p><p>As his paws wrapped around me in a furry embrace, I couldn’t help but feel sceptical at this, John was always so optimistic for a fox. It was difficult to know if he had a point, or was just being optimistic, after-all a vixen doesn’t live through wishful thinking and dreams alone.</p><p>“John....” I started, trying to find the right words to say.</p><p>“Marian...I know this is hard but...”</p><p>
  <strong>Flashback end</strong>
</p><p>“You have to do what is right, and most of the time, it is always a hard road to go through, but no matter what, you need to stay strong and never give up” I finished.</p><p>“But....what is the right thing to do?” Nicholas asked, staring at me with those hopeful eyes of his, eyes that told me, that they were a cry for help.</p><p>With a sigh, I gave him a small smile <em>‘Even though you’re all grown up, you’re still my lost little kit who needs help. But little kits are always so stubborn in asking for help if only you’d tell me’</em></p><p>“Well Nicholas, that is up to you to decide” I replied</p><p> He was in thought,</p><p>Didn’t you just tell me that you didn’t want me to handle it myself?</p><p>I laughed at his comment “Dear, there’s a difference in going through it alone, and going through your own path. Now don’t tell me that you didn’t feel better after talking to your mother</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> “Thanks, mom” he replied, giving me a genuine smile and a hug.</p><p>“What are you two talking about?” a voice cried, I turned around to find John carrying my jacket in his paw.</p><p>“Oh nothing John, just some motherly son advice” I answered, giving him a quick wink, stepping away from Nicholas and towards my mate.</p><p>“Hmmm” he replied, slipping the jacket on me, letting it wrap around me like a blanket. I gave him a peck on the cheek in appreciation, only to have him return the favour.</p><p>I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by his show of affection, yet from the corner of my eye, I saw Nicholas seemingly grasping or feeling for something in his pocket. As I wondered what my Nicholas was hiding, an idea sprang to mind to try to find out.</p><p>“Come on Nicholas, you too John, big family hug” I requested, pulling John next to me while waiting for Nicholas to join in.</p><p>And with a sigh, Nicholas joined in the family activity. As we all got caught in a tight family embrace, I quickly got to work, slipping my paw gracefully around his waist and into his pocket, searching for the prize. My paw felt a rough fabric object, which from experience I guessed would be a wallet.</p><p>I carefully lifted it from his pocket, and with my other paw, I pulled out what appeared to be a picture of some kind, hoping that this was what Nicholas was hiding.</p><p>With picture in paw, I returned his wallet to his pocket and hid the picture from view.</p><p>Breaking off from our family hug, I eyed John and gave him a smirk, letting him know that something was up. And in return, he gave me a smile of acknowledgement, as he decided to gain our son’s attention through some topic.</p><p>“You should visit more often son, maybe we can set you up with Mrs Argent’s daughter” he stated, giving off a chuckle as he did.</p><p>“Dad, you know that silver foxes are way out of my league” Nicholas replied, ears perked down in embarrassment about the topic at hand.</p><p>“Of course they are, with that attitude of yours” I butted in.</p><p>“Now you better get busy Nicholas, your father and I aren’t getting any younger, when will you bring home a nice girl? You haven’t brought anyone home since high school” I reminded.</p><p>“I’ll bring someone home, okay?”</p><p>“Love you both” he cried, as he headed off.</p><p>And as I watched my Nicholas walked away, little did he know that he was relieved of a certain valuable.</p><p>
  <em>‘Little kits are always so stubborn...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That’s why it takes a vixen’s cunning to mother her little ones’</em>
</p><p>With a wave of my paw, I waved my lifted spoils around, twirling the mysterious photo between my fingers. <em>‘Two figures, red and white, looks like Nicholas and some other fox’</em></p><p>“Marian” John whispered, chuckled to himself, taking my attention from the photo, I smiled at my husband.</p><p>“Old habits die hard John, besides, it’s a useful skill to have, that’s how I got your number isn’t it?” I reminded him, swaying my hips in a show for my mate.</p><p>“And what use is that picture that you <em>‘borrowed’</em> off Nicholas?” he asked, crossing his arms.</p><p>“Well dear, our little Nicholas is hiding something, and I intend to find out what it is” I explained.</p><p>“Oh do you now?” he asked, as he approached me, a sly smirk on his muzzle. As he came up behind me, wrapping his paws around my waist, tail entwined with mine, his muzzle buried into my nape taking in my scent with heavy loud breaths.</p><p>Seeing him taking me in like this filled me with joy, as I could only giggle in excitement for tonight, I waited in anticipation for his next move, but it never came. I looked over towards him and saw his sudden change in expression “John? Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost”</p><p>“Marian... remember about that young vixen I told you about?” he questioned slowly, filled with new cautious behaviour.</p><p>“Now John, remember our wedding vows, you shouldn’t be thinking of other vixens at this age” I joked, trying to lighten the mood from its sudden dive to seriousness. After all, I didn’t want tonight to end with tense feelings.</p><p>“Marian I’m serious” he stated, a sigh in annoyance at my joke. His attention was taken from me and instead focused on the photo I held between my paws.</p><p>I let out a sigh in defeat, compliant to tonight’s discussion “yes dear, poor thing, raising a kit by herself” I sighed.</p><p>“You see the arctic in this picture? The one next to our boy?” he asked.</p><p>Yes” I replied, a bit hesitantly</p><p>“That’s her...” he answered, a smirk on his muzzle and that red tail of his gently swaying with playfulness, that look that told me he expected some sort of reaction from me, and he was right.</p><p>I stared at the picture in my paws, before staring at my husband, jaw hanging wide open, ears perked up as a sign at my surprise, I was struggling to breathe. The thought, the idea of Nicholas with someone was too much.</p><p>“You’re telling me that...ohhhh you can’t... OUR NICKY IN LOVE WITH A MATED ABANDONED VIXEN!?. JUST WAIT UNTIL THE GIRLS AT THE BOOK CLUB HEAR ABOUT THIS, OH IT’S JUST LIKE DEBBY’S ROMANCE NOVEL! WE SHOULD INVITE THEM TO DINNER! WE SHOULD...WE”</p><p>“Marian, calm down” laughed John, as he wrapped his paws around me, pulling me in for a hug, trying to calm me down or to divert my attention from the news.</p><p>But I could only squeal in delight at the thought of possible grandkits, while John could only chuckle to himself at my behaviour.</p><p>
  <em>‘Just who is this White Vixen? And what is her story?’</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Savanna Central. Zootopia. The Mockingbird Restaurant</strong>
</p><p>Inside a dimly lit, yet elegant room, seated five mammals, an arctic shrew seated with a rather large aged polar bear by his left side, and an empty chair to the other. The chair was reserved as if for some missing guest, complete with an untouched cold dinner, the pair was flanked by an additional two menacing polar bears in black suits on the watch.</p><p>And standing to the side of the group, in the corner of the room was a black elderly bear, the shrew and polar bear had just finished their meals, seemingly mixing the discussion of the intricacies of business propositions and offerings with the enjoyment of a heavy meal.</p><p>“Now that business is over, Mr Johnson, I have a...shall we say... a great deal of interest in one of your employees” the shrew stated, wiping his mouth from the remains of his meal.</p><p>“Who?” the bear spoke up, trying his best to appear confident yet humble before the presence of the mafia boss and his associate.</p><p>The Polar bear seated next to the shrew boss spoke up, his tone deep and heavy, but bland, showing no real emotion. “An Arctic Fox, female”</p><p>“Nicole White? W-what business do you have with her?” the bear asked, stumbling over his words, while internally regretting his choice of hire, wondering what trouble the vulpine got herself into.</p><p>The shrew threw his napkin onto the table, letting the message of his gesture be known to whomever that was paying attention. “You should know not to pry Mr Johnson” the shrew spoke, as he stood up from his chair.</p><p>“Oh, I meant no disrespect Mr Big, in fact, I-”</p><p>The Shrew held up in paw to silence the bear, as he signalled to his associate that their business was over, stepping into the polar bear’s paw laid out before him “Tomorrow, afternoon, she needs to be there, see to it. I will send a car for her, there must be no complications”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And we have CH14. I hope you like this version of Marian I have created, I'd love to hear your thoughts on her personality and background. And now what's the deal with the Big Mafia? what are they planning? Remember to leave a Kudos, comment, and a bookmark :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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